Obscure Reality
by Biscuit15
Summary: Squalo should have realised there was more than just beatings that had prompted Bel to run away from home at eight years old. With him and Dino taking Bel in, Squalo has no idea how deep he's gotten himself into, and that taking the blond in could cost them all their lives. AU, B59 59B.
1. Chapter 1

The world was a terrifying place, Belphegor had learnt long, long ago. The slightest of noises were deafening, his sense of smell overwhelming. Sudden flashes of light were dazzling, causing headaches in a split second. Even touch was painful and unwanted; the littlest thing such as the sensation of clothing against his skin almost unbearable.

But the scariest thing of all was the man behind him, chasing him down the street in an attempt to catch him and drag him back inside the house he had so desperately escaped from. Belphegor ran, knowing there was nothing that hurt him or frightened him more than when this man put his hands on him. Tiny legs moving as fast as they could, the boy wasn't sure he had ever run so fast in his life.

Throwing himself onto the ground, Belphegor crawled through a gap beneath the fence, knowing the man wouldn't be able to follow him through. Without looking back, Belphegor kept running, not sure where to, but anywhere would be better than that this hell.

Unsure of how far he had run, but noticing that the man was no longer behind him, Belphegor slowed to a walk. He sobbed as he wrapped his arms around himself, his ripped striped sweater doing nothing to keep him warm against the cold weather that sent chills down his spine.

Disconcerted by the array of cars passing him, the boy raised little hands to cover his ears, but it made no difference; he couldn't block out any of the loud noises were still enough to send shocks of pain through his body. He trembled as his tears came harder, and through his long golden bangs, he saw people staring at him and could hear the whispers that may well have been yelling.

Trying to get away from it all, Belphegor ran again, bolting around a corner until he hit a hard surface and bounced to the cement. In a daze, the boy could only lie there and stare up at the teenager who had almost fallen as well, steadied by the other next to him.

The blond teenager, clad in a school uniform with a bag on his back, laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, his smile reaching his hazel eyes. The other teenager, a silver-haired male, held an annoyed look on his face as he removed his hands from the other teenager's shoulders.

"You're fuckin' hopeless, you dumbass…" Dark eyes darted over to Belphegor, his gaze hardening as he surveyed the youngest. "Watch where you're fuckin' going, you little shit."

Belphegor sniffed as tears flooded his eyes once again. He was too afraid to move, worried that if he were to do so, they would both jump him; maybe if he stayed where he was and made himself look smaller than he already was, they would be on their way.

"Sorry about that." The blond teenager smiled again as he leant down, extending a hand to the fallen boy. "Are you okay?"

Belphegor refused to take the hand, frightened of even the _thought _of touch; he would much rather lie here and wait for them to leave before getting up.

The stronger blond didn't seem fazed by the child's silence, but he did seem to sense that the other didn't want to be touched; pulling his hand back to his own self, he cocked his head to the side. "What's your name?"

"…" Blinking beneath his long bangs, Belphegor felt his panic rising further; why couldn't they just _leave _already…?!

"Not much of a talker, hey?" Kneeling down so that he was next to the boy, the teenager showed no hint of wanting to leave any time soon. "Does that have something to do with why you're crying? Did you lose your parents?"

"…"

Then, hazel eyes narrowed, a hint of anger filling the air, and Belphegor couldn't work out for the life of him why he always seemed to make everyone mad, even when he hadn't done _anything_.

"Voi, Bucking Horse, let's just go; the little brat will find them himself." The silver-haired male was getting impatient, and he was about ready to pull his friend away if they didn't leave soon; why were they even talking to the rude shit when he knocked the blond teenager over in the first place?

The blond ignored the other, instead speaking in a tone that sounded choked, vastly different from the kind voice he had been using earlier. "Or… Is it because of those bruises on you…?"

Looking down, Belphegor tensed at this question; he knew only too well of the bruises that littered his body, and he didn't want to talk about them. "…"

"Are you perhaps… running from whoever gave them to you…?"

Looking up at this question, Belphegor hesitated, his mind going over the possible outcomes of admitting this; would they only hurt him further if they knew what he went through in his house?

Swallowing a lump in his throat, the boy nodded. Glancing over at the rough-looking teenager, Belphegor found the other was scowling now, an unreadable look in his eyes. While the older blond looked as if he were about to cry himself, the silver-haired male simply stood there, grinding his teeth.

"Then you should come with us; we won't let anyone hurt you." Getting back to his feet, the blond's anger vanished, replaced once again with kindness. "We were on our way home anyway; we've finished school for the day and we got some sushi to bring home for lunch. Do you like sushi?"

Unsure of whether or not he _did _like sushi as he had never had it before, Belphegor remained silent; did he want to find out…? At any rate, he wanted to get away from the monster who always sought to hurt him; could he trust these two to keep him away…?

Getting to his feet, Belphegor flinched and backed away as the older blond came closer to him again. Shaking his head, he hugged himself tight once more, trying to tell them to stay away; he didn't like anyone close to him at the best of times, especially not someone who may hurt him.

"How about you just follow us home, then?" Offering a gentle smile, the taller blond moved back to his friend. "My name is Dino, by the way. This is my friend, Squalo. Do you want to tell us your name?"

Shaking his head, Belphegor waited for the teenagers to start walking before he moved, always careful to keep distance between them; maybe… just maybe…

Maybe he had found an escape from the pain.

_**~~XX~~**_

Unlocking the door to his home, Dino felt a little embarrassed; the kid was obviously in awe of his family's mansion. He couldn't help but wonder; what kind of home had his fellow blond come out of? Dino shuddered to imagine.

Belphegor hesitated to step past the threshold, but he did so; trembling, he followed the teenagers further into the mansion, eventually finding himself in a kitchen. He stayed in the doorway as he watched the two approach what seemed to be a chef, Dino requesting a few plates. Belphegor cocked his head to the side when the other was granted his wish, surprised that he dropped them within seconds of touching them, but Squalo had been on the ball and caught them before they shattered on the ground, almost as if he had expected it.

After an apology to the chef from Dino, and a few choice words from Squalo, they came back to Belphegor's side, leading him towards the staircase.

"My room is a few flights up." Looking over his shoulder at his guest, Dino smiled, noticing that Squalo hadn't spoken a word to the boy after he had invited him along. "I have a nice, comfortable bed you can sit on. You can even have a sleep if you want to; you seem pretty tired to me."

Belphegor sighed, knowing he _was _tired, but how had the other known? Keeping his head down, he followed in silence, too afraid to talk.

"Here we are."

Looking back up, Belphegor found the two disappearing into a room on his right. Hurrying his pace, he stopped just before the entrance, finding the teenagers had entered the biggest room he had seen in his life, approaching a huge bed with red covers and a drape over it. They sat on the end of the bed, Squalo putting the plates down on the mattress before sliding his bag off his shoulder to pull cartons of sushi out of it.

"C'mere, brat."

"Don't call him a brat, Squalo."

"Well, he is one…"

Hesitantly, Belphegor approached the two. Side-stepping around them, he moved to the side of the bed, reaching out with shaking hands. Placing them on the comforter for a split second, he flinched and jumped back, not liking the feel of the fabric at all.

"You okay?" Instinctively, Dino reached out to grab the boy, his nature caring, but it seemed he only made things worse; the second Dino's fingers brushed against his guest's shoulder, Belphegor let out an ear-splitting scream.

"Jesus!" Dropping the sushi to the mattress, Squalo reached out, pulling the boy away from Dino; he hadn't expected for such a tiny child to throw himself at the teenager and bite the other hard enough to break skin; the kid was a fucking _shrimp, _so why would he attack someone like _Dino _for no reason? "Calm the fuck down!"

It seemed that touching Belphegor only made him more agitated as he started screaming again, flailing his thin limbs around and smacking Squalo in the face in the process. He whimpered as he was dropped to the ground, climbing beneath the bed. He didn't exit the other side; he simply laid there and watched their legs, trembling violently as tears rolled down his eyes.

"Get your ass out here, you little shit!" Squalo dropped himself onto the ground, reaching beneath the mattress to try and pull Belphegor out. Squalo yelped as teeth sunk into his hand, his anger only growing; he didn't care _what _that kid had come out of; he was a little shit, and Squalo wanted him _gone_. "I'll snap your fucking neck!"

"Squalo!" Dino had always had more sense than Squalo, so it was only natural he was the understanding one in this minute; Squalo had a bad habit of letting the blood rush to his head. "Squalo, stop! I'll handle this!"

Squalo turned around, sneering at his friend. "Get rid of him before I murder him!"

"Squalo…" Gently moving his friend out of the way, Dino leant down, looking beneath the mattress. "Are you going to come out from there? I can't imagine it'd be very comfortable. Surely you'd want to eat your sushi somewhere else."

Shaking his head, Belphegor sniffed back tears; he didn't want to come back out if the silver-haired male was going to hurt him; he was hurt enough by his father as it was and he didn't want anyone else to do it as well.

"Well…" Sitting back up, Dino grabbed one of the sushi containers and some cutlery from the bed. Leaning down again to pass it to Belphegor, he offered one of his brightest smiles. "You can have this. Feel free to come out whenever you want, okay? Squalo and I will be in here for a while, so take your time."

Belphegor didn't reply, nor did he take the food; he simply watched as it was placed on the ground. He was too scared to touch it, sure that it was a trap; he had often been beaten for trying to eat what he had been given.

Lying where he was, Belphegor was still for what felt like an eternity before his hunger pains grew too much for him to handle; grazing the tips of his fingers against the container, he glanced at the teenagers to make sure they weren't looking before he took the sushi, opening the lid as quietly as he could. Glad that the older two were busy doing something else, Belphegor ate in silence, glad that he could eat what he had been given; it was hard for him to find food he could tolerate.

Finishing his meal quickly, Belphegor pushed the container away from him before curling up into a ball, wanting to sleep; he was so tired, he wasn't sure he was going to last much longer.

However, just when he had gotten to sleep, Belphegor was startled awake by a loud thump. Opening his eyes, he found that the blond teenager seemed to have fallen over, and that the silver-haired one was laughing at him. However, something about that laughter seemed different to the one he always heard from his family; there wasn't that cruel vibe resonating from them; instead it seemed almost… _happy_.

"You're a fuckin' idiot, Bucking Horse." Getting to his own feet, Squalo approached his friend. Reaching down, he picked Dino up, taking a few steps as he watched the older male brush himself off. "What, did you trip over your own feet again?"

Dino chuckled, smiling shyly. "I think so, Squalo."

Belphegor could sense that the situation had calmed down, so warily pulling himself out from beneath the bed, he sat and watched the two; he had never seen interactions like this before, finding that they didn't frighten him – hell, there was no violence or anger there to scare him in the first place, nothing but friendliness. "…"

Dino took notice of the boy after a few minutes. Cocking his head to the side, he said, "I guess it's not as comfortable beneath the bed as you thought it would be, huh?"

Nodding, the smaller blond dropped his head, picking at the stitching on his raggedy pants. "…"

Moving to kneel next to the child, Dino smiled. "Would you like some new clothing? The ones you're wearing look very old and worn out."

Beneath long bangs, Belphegor just blinked, not understanding what was being said to him; what was the teenager talking about? "…"

Remaining patient, Dino didn't mind the silence; he knew that he was dealing with a damaged boy, and he couldn't let himself grow frustrated; he had to be understanding if he wanted to help. "I will buy you clothing."

"…?" Cocking his head to the side, Belphegor decided he didn't like the confusion and instead returned to picking at his clothes; he wasn't used to anything but yelling and screaming, so having someone speak to calmly to him was like a foreign language he had never heard of before.

"So, what's your name? What do your parents call you?"

"…" Looking up at Dino again, the boy licked his lips before avoiding eye contact. "…B…Belphegor…"

"Belphegor?" His eyes crinkling with kindness, Dino smiled wider. "Can I call you Bel?"

"…" Nodding, Belphegor stood up and moved to the wall window, his hands on the glass as he watched the trees begin to sway in the heavy wind.

Squalo sighed as Dino came back to his side, his dark eyes narrowed. "I don't care what his name is; he's a brat to me."

"Give him a chance, Squalo; I'm sure he's just a little nervous." Turning back around to face Belphegor, Dino called out, "Hey, Bel? How old are you?"

"…Eight…"

Not wanting to ask this question, but knowing he couldn't kidnap a child no matter how good his intentions were, the oldest teenager asked, "Do you want to go back to your parents, or do you want to stay here with Squalo and I?"

"…" Freezing on the spot, fresh tears started sliding down Belphegor's face at the question. "…I don't want to go back to them…"

Dino wished he could get up and hug the child, but he knew how frightening that could be for Belphegor; he instead stayed where he was, dropping his head; how was he supposed to respond to such a heartbreaking scene?

Shaking his head, Dino turned away. He could feel Squalo tensing beside him, the smaller teenager clearly angered by the reaction, but Dino knew that anger wasn't directed at Belphegor – _never _at Belphegor; it was aimed at the people who had done this to the boy in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

Bel was a very quiet boy, Dino had learnt over the few days they had spent together. He wasn't sure if it was because the younger was scared of his new living arrangements, or something else was keeping the child quiet, but the boy seemed to spend most of his time hiding beneath the bed, sleeping and playing with whatever he could get his hands on when no one was around to catch him going through his host's belongings. Dino couldn't blame him; he was almost certain the child had been abused, so it was understandable Bel wanted to hide.

_Buzz Buzz._

Dino winced as he heard Bel scurrying further beneath the bed at the sound of the teen's phone vibrating on the desk. He had noticed that the youngest did it every time his phone went off, and he could only wonder why the noise seemed to frighten Bel – it was just that; a noise that couldn't hurt him.

Reading the text that Squalo had sent him, Dino frowned; there was a reason the younger male spent a lot of time with the blond, after all. _My uncle's being a dick again; let me come over. _

The blond didn't hesitate to type back, _You know you don't have to ask, Squalo. I'll tell Romario I'm expecting you. _

With that sent, Dino then stood up and moved over to his bed. He leant down so that he could peek beneath it, finding Bel curled up in a ball as he held something in his hands. The younger seemed to have been playing with it, but had frozen at Dino's approach.

"Hey, Bel." Trying to use the softest voice he could muster, Dino smiled at his guest. "What's that you've got there?"

Bel hesitated before he slowly moved his hands towards the teenager. It took a few seconds for him to open his trembling hands, but soon enough, he revealed the Rubik's Cube he had been playing with. "…"

Dino was about to tell the boy that it was okay and he could keep playing with it, but then he noticed that the entire thing had been solved. Reaching out to take the toy, the blond turned it over in his hands to double check – and, yes, every side matched up.

"You solved it." Smiling at Bel, Dino handed the Rubik's Cube back. "How long did it take you?"

"…" Licking his lips, Bel turned his head away as he whispered a reply. "…A few seconds…"

"Can you show me?" Remaining patient as the boy just stared at him, Dino respected the fact that perhaps Bel hadn't understood his request properly. Trying to rephrase it into something the child should surely understand, he said, "Will you solve this again so I can see how you did it?"

Bel immediately messed the colours up again, his tiny fingers moving quickly. Once he was satisfied with his work, he then started twisting the blocks every which way, sometimes two sides at once, until once again, the Rubik's Cube had been solved. "…"

"Bel, that's amazing!" Taking no notice of the way Bel startled at his excitement, Dino clapped his hands together; he had never seen anything like this before, and it warmed his heart. "I wish I were as smart as you!"

Bel didn't understand this; why was Dino saying he was smart? His brother and parents had never told him he was smart; instead they told him that he was stupid. Why was the teenager telling him something else? Who was he supposed to believe?

"…" Pulling his Rubik's Cube against his chest, Bel curled up into a tighter ball than before. He let out a soft sigh as he felt tears welling up in his eyes, and he couldn't stop himself from sobbing a few seconds later.

Dino frowned, wondering if it had been something he had said that had upset Bel, but he just couldn't think of what it could be; he hadn't… said _anything_ that could be taken the wrong way. …Right? "Bel, what's wrong?"

Bel flinched as he felt a hand touch his leg. He shrieked loudly as he recoiled, coming back a second later to kick out at his host. He screamed something incomprehensible as he did so, anger mixing with his sadness.

"Bel…" Dino left it at that, knowing that the boy just wanted to be alone; getting back to his feet, he left the room without another word.

Now that Dino was gone, Bel wiped at his eyes as he continued to cry. He couldn't stop doing so for almost an hour, but he soon stopped by himself; it didn't look like anyone was coming back to hurt him, so he was able to calm down a little. Putting his attention back on his Rubik's Cube, he mixed the colours up once more before solving it again a few more times, but he started to grow bored; he had been playing with it all afternoon, and he wanted to find something else to do.

Pulling himself out from beneath the bed, Bel stood up and looked around. There wasn't much in Dino's room that interested him, so he figured he would instead go for a walk around the mansion and see what he could find.

The boy hadn't gotten very far from Dino's room before one of the doors along the corridor opened and a maid exited. The woman took one look at Bel before she smiled and greeted him, but no matter how warm her actions were, the boy still fled; he felt terrified at the idea of being alone with someone he had never met in a place he still wasn't very familiar with.

The staircase hadn't seemed as long as it did now that Bel was trying to get down them as fast as he could without falling; the staircase seemed to be endless, and he wasn't sure if he would ever get to the bottom of it so that he could find somewhere safe to hide until the woman left.

Finally reaching the bottom of the staircase, Bel took the corridor on his right. However, just before he could pass the threshold, someone else came out of a room in the hallway he had just ran into. The boy couldn't stop in time; knocking them over, he fell on top of them, his heart pounding in fright.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

Looking down to see that he was sprawled on top of Squalo, Bel whimpered; was the teenager going to hurt him for this…?

"Get off!" Waiting for the boy to climb off of his stomach, Squalo narrowed his eyes at the younger. He looked over his shoulder as Dino and the man named Romario who had been left in charge of the older blond came out of the kitchen to see what was happening; they must have been drawn by the commotion. "Voi, Bucking Horse! Get this little shit off me!"

Dino did as told, leaning down and speaking very gently to his guest so he didn't agitate Bel more than he already was. "Bel, you need to get off Squalo now, okay? Squalo is very uncomfortable when people touch him, and he doesn't like people on him."

Bel frowned, but he did as he was told; climbing off of the silver-haired teen, he stood across from the others, fumbling with his hands as he looked at his feet. "…"

Romario chuckled, but he didn't say anything; he had already learnt the hard way that Bel seemed to be terrified of him, and would act out if he approached the boy or said something to him. It was easier watching in silence, because as long as he kept to himself, the youngest seemed to be able to remain somewhat calm.

Standing back up, Squalo dusted himself off. He sent a glare to Bel before he left the corridor, making his way up to his best friend's bedroom. Bel held his breath as Dino said something to him before the teenager followed after Squalo, and once Romario had vacated the area as well, the youngest soon returned to his host's bedroom; it frightened him to be out of it while knowing Dino wasn't elsewhere in the house, too.

Pushing open the bedroom door a few minutes later, Bel looked inside to find Squalo seated at the desk with Dino nowhere in sight. The silver-haired male glanced at him before he turned back to whatever he was doing, letting the blond tiptoe halfway across the room before he sighed and broke the silence.

"Brat."

Bel froze, his body starting to shake as he looked at the older male; was he in trouble…? "…"

Making a hither gesture, Squalo said, "Come here."

Bel hesitated, but he eventually came closer to the other. "…"

Shrugging, Squalo wasted no time in saying, "Don't touch me, brat. Don't _fucking _sit on me the way you did before. I _hate _people touching me."

"…"

Shaking his head, Squalo left it at that; there was a lot more he wanted to say, but Bel was eight; would he even understand? "…Just don't sit on me again…"

Bel fumbled with his hands. He swallowed before he moved closer to the desk, keeping Dino's chair between him and Squalo for reassurance. "…Where's… Dino…?"

"He's helping Romario with some shit."

"…Is he coming back…?" Bel's mouth starting going dry at this question; what if his fellow blond never returned?

"Yeah, brat. Soon."

"Okay…" Climbing up onto Dino's chair, Bel grabbed the open textbook that was lying on the desk before him. He pulled it closer to him, his tiny fingers grazing over the formula summaries. Drinking in the information before him, he then looked at the first question. "Squ…? Three."

"What?" Looking at Bel, Squalo then glanced down at the book in the boy's hands.

"Three." Shoving the textbook at the older male, Bel made no effort to clarify himself; he didn't know how to make Squalo understand what he was trying to say.

"This question?" Pointing to the first question in the topic, Squalo received a nod in response. He whistled in astonishment, surprised that a little boy with – as far as they knew – no proper education had been able to solve an advanced mathematic equation. "You're a smart little shit. A lot of the kids in our class struggled with this."

Curling in on himself, Bel whined; there was that word again; people calling him _smart_. Were they right? Or were they making up lies? "…"

Handing the younger a pen and paper, Squalo then shoved his own textbook at the boy. "Take this and go write out the answers. Show me when you're done."

Bel accepted everything with shaking hands. He slid off the chair and returned to his hiding place beneath the bed, laying closer to the edge so that he still had light. He was just about to start looking at the other questions when Squalo called out to him.

"Brat…"

Poking his head out from beneath the bed, Bel waited for the other to finish speaking. "…"

Clearing his throat in uneasiness, Squalo pulled Dino's chair over to his other side, away from the blond's homework. Patting the base of it, he looked away as he muttered, "If you want, you can sit with us…"

"…" Bel didn't know why he accepted the offer; all he knew was that he was soon bringing everything back to the desk and sitting on Squalo's right so that he wasn't crowded in between the two teenagers. After making himself comfortable, he looked over to see what the silver-haired male was doing. "Squ… What's that…?"

Raising his eyebrow, Squalo put down his pen. "Why do you always call me 'Squ'?"

Avoiding eye contact, Bel tensed. He licked his lips before he whispered, "…I… like calling you 'Squ'…"

Shrugging, Squalo left it at that. Moving his pen away from his notebook, he then said, "I'm writing an essay for my English class."

Bel felt daunted by this information, it being so strange to him; he had never encountered any of this until meeting Squalo and Dino, and he didn't understand _anything_. He pulled his knees to his chest as he turned his attention back to the math textbook, answering questions and teaching himself new formulas within seconds. Squalo couldn't help but be amazed by the fact that Bel knew exactly what he was doing and had no trouble whatsoever getting the correct answers from topics that kids twice his age struggled with.

If this kid had never been to school before, Squalo could only imagine how easily the boy would have flied through everything had he gone.

_**~~XX~~**_

When night fell and Dino and Squalo had stopped doing their homework together, the two were seated on Dino's bed as they watched movies. Squalo was seated lazily on the end of the mattress while his best friend was curled up beneath the blankets, the blond laughing cheerfully at something that had just happened in the movie.

When Squalo simply gave him a dirty glare, Dino offered a shy smile to the younger. "You need a sense of humour, Squalo."

"My sense of humour is fine!"

"Yeah, yeah." Leaning over the edge of the bed so that he could peer down at Bel, Dino smiled. "Do you want to come out from under there and watch movies with us, Bel? You can bring your blankets up with you."

Bel was silent as he accepted this offer; he wanted to see what was so funny. Leaving his makeshift nest hidden beneath Dino's bed, he pulled his favourite blanket and pillow out with him. Carefully spreading his pillow out beside Squalo, he then climbed onto the mattress and wrapped himself up in his light blanket.

"Are you staying the night, Squalo?"

Squalo tore his gaze away from the boy who had begun sucking at his thumb, turning to look at Dino instead. He nodded. "Yeah… Not going home to that creep tonight…" With this said, he sighed and laid back, resting his head against his friend's knees. "Not in the mood for his shit…"

Dino sat up, reaching out to pat silver hair in a soothing manner. "You can move in with me, Squalo; you know I don't mind. I hate you having to always go back to him…"

Squalo lifted his hand to rub at his face, his sleeve falling down and revealing pale flesh marred with cuts and scars. Bel cocked his head to the side at this; did someone hurt Squalo, too?

"Squ-Squ…?" Waiting until the older male was looking at him, Bel then stated, "Someone hurts you, too."

Squalo shrugged, frowning as he looked anywhere but at Bel. "…Yeah, my uncle. My parents kicked me out, so I had no choice but to live with him."

"What happens to Squ?"

Squalo couldn't tell Bel the truth; the boy wouldn't understand it. Summarising everything into one sentence, he hoped it would be enough for the apparently-inquisitive child. "Bad things he shouldn't be doing to me."

Bel hummed at these words, taking them on board; so Squalo _could _understand… Lifting his shirt, he revealed his stomach, showing the two the bruises and cuts that had been inflicted on him just days before he had run away. "My brother cuts me… And mummy and daddy hit and kick me…"

While Dino clenched his hands, knowing he had been right in assuming the boy was abused, Squalo chewed at his lip. The silver-haired male soon reached out in a very slow manner until he could brush his fingers against Bel's hand. The youngest flinched, but he didn't pull away; was it because Squalo was wearing gloves tonight?

Taking that as a sign that Bel wouldn't resist _too _much touch right now, Squalo held tiny hands in his. "My parents abused me, too, brat. I don't like to be touched because of them and my uncle. But that stupid Bucking Horse would never hurt you, so you should stay here with him. You are safe with Bucking Horse."

Bel felt tears well up in his eyes at these words. He wanted to stay here with Dino and Squalo because he _liked _it in the older blond's bedroom; he felt _safe _hiding away beneath the bed, and no one but Dino and Squalo ever bothered him beneath there. "…"

"So stay here, because you have someone who wants to keep you safe; it's hard to find people like that these days." Bowing his head, Squalo sighed. "_Stay_."

The boy nodded. "Okay…"

"Good." Looking at his wristwatch, Squalo's gaze softened a tad. "It's late. You should get some sleep."

"Not tired…"

Having noticed that Bel did seem to have problems with sleep, Squalo left it at that; the boy would fall asleep when he was ready, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

"When did you get here?"

Bel looked up from the jigsaw puzzle he had been piecing together with Squalo by his side. He knew Dino had been gone for a while, but he didn't know where his host had disappeared to; just that, not long after the older blond had left, Squalo had arrived.

Squalo shrugged, picking through pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to find one that would connect to the edges they had already put together. "A while ago. My uncle had company over, so I left."

"Ah, that's okay." Coming to sit down by the younger two, Dino glanced down at what they were doing. He noticed that they were working on the puzzle of a puppy, and he was sure he didn't own this; where had they gotten it from? "Where'd you get the puzzle?"

"I found it in the attic at my uncle's. I doubt he'd miss it, so I took it for the brat."

Dino smiled, glad that Squalo had started warming up to Bel; in doing so, the boy seemed to have come out of his shell a little, and was starting to spend more time out from under the bed. "Romario and I went to see… _them. _They accepted my offer."

Knowing that his best friend was talking about Bel's parents, Squalo tensed; so they had allowed for the teen to keep their son… But at what cost? "What did they want?"

"I gave them a few thousand euros. They've handed him over to me."

"There's gotta be some sort of catch to it." Looking down as he felt a tiny hand tug at his gloved finger, Squalo accepted the puzzle piece the boy was handing to him. He connected it to what he was already holding before he put it down on the ground, letting Bel decide where he wanted to put it. "People don't just willingly give their kids away to strangers."

"Romario asked them to sign paperwork, so they're legally bound to it. The only issue is, he's listed under Romario's care because we're too young to be official guardians."

Squalo hummed at these words, picking up the next piece. "Well… I suppose we'll deal with that shit if it comes up, then…"

Dino nodded. He watched the way Bel worked quickly at the puzzle, seemingly memorising every little piece he came across; it never took him more than just a few seconds to join the pieces together. "He's a smart little cookie, isn't he, Squalo?"

"Yeah, he is. He followed me around the mansion when I got here. He appears to like being with me."

The older blond smiled, glad that Bel looked to be trusting them; he was such a cute little kid, and he appeared much happier now after the past couple weeks of having been living with them. "Do you like these kinds of games, Bel?"

Bel looked up at Dino. It took a few seconds for him to nod before he turned back to what he was doing, not very interested in his fellow blond at this current moment. "…"

It was Squalo who spoke next. "So what time is everyone meant to be getting here?"

Knowing that the younger was referring to the school party Dino had been kind enough to host at his home, the blond glanced at Bel before replying. "Around six, I believe. It was an open invite, so I don't know how many people will be coming."

"I don't give a fuck how many will be here; I'm staying in the room with Bel. I hate those fuckers… I'm not popular like _you_…"

"You should come down and say hi to at least a few people; if we go through with moving to Japan… Well… Who knows."

"I don't give a fuck. I'm not doing it."

Dino sighed, but he didn't push the subject; he knew that Squalo didn't make friends easily, and that he felt more comfortable by himself instead of in a huge group of people. "Alright, then. Look after Bel. I'm going to go back downstairs and help Romario with getting everything ready."

Squalo nodded. It was quiet as the older blond left the room, leaving him and Bel in peaceful silence. They sat together for a few minutes more before the boy spoke, saying, "Squ…? Is… Are people… coming here…?"

"Yeah."

Bel sucked in a breath as he went rigid. Tears started streaming down his cheeks as he let out a scream, his hands flying up to pull at his hair. He got to his feet unsteadily, kicking away the puzzle pieces in his stress.

"Voi! What the fuck, Bel?!" Getting to his feet, Squalo reached out, grabbing the boy and pulling him over to the bed. The kid thrashed and screamed, his small mouth biting at Squalo hard enough to draw blood as he scratched and kicked and elbowed.

Bel soon broke free of the hold he had been forced into, his long nails scratching at Squalo's face before he ran to the other side of the room. Kicking at the bedside drawers, the boy howled in pain as his toes started throbbing, but it didn't deter him from hitting the wall next. He scurried away when Squalo ran at him, next banging his head against the wall hard enough to break the skin beneath his long curtain of bangs and draw blood.

When Squalo grabbed the boy and pulled him away from the wall, his hand slipped and he ended up tugging at Bel's shirt. This was just too much for the younger as his senses became overloaded; with one last scream, he passed out.

"Fuck!" Squalo clutched the boy tight in his arms, not knowing what to do; what the fuck… had just _happened_? Getting to his feet, he carried Bel from the room, going downstairs to seek out Dino and get help; he had no idea what to do in this situation, and he didn't have the patience to work it out for himself. "Voi! Bucking Horse! Help!"

Upon hearing his friend's shouting, Dino and Romario came running from the living room, their faces taking on looks of concern as they noticed Bel laying limp in his arms.

"Bel!" Dino skidded to a stop by his friend's side, his hazel eyes wide. "What happened?!"

"I don't know; he just…" Watching as Romario gently took the child from his arms, Squalo was hardly aware of the way he trembled; why did it bother him to know that something was wrong with Bel? He barely knew the kid! "He… had some sort of breakdown and was hitting his head against the wall. So I tried to grab him and pull him away, and he just passed out. I don't… fucking get it!"

Romario held Bel carefully, patting blond hair. He smiled down at the two teenagers, his kind nature shining through. "You both have been doing a very good job with him, but I think it's time I give you some advice. I was hoping one of you would work it out yourself, but it's very important you take him to a doctor. You don't know his medical background, and if he's had a fit like this, it's best to get him checked over and see what the doctor thinks. He's only a very young boy, but he seems reasonably healthy physically, at least."

Dino frowned, having not thought of this; what if Bel had a serious condition like diabetes, and something had happened? Nodding, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Thanks, Romario; I'll organise everything for him tomorrow."

"For now, he needs to go and get some rest; he must have been very worked up in order to pass out like this." Walking towards the stairwell, Romario looked over his shoulder. "He might be pretty tired when he wakes up, so let him have some space."

The teenagers followed Romario back up to Dino's room, soon watching as the man laid the youngest down on the nest of blankets they had put beneath the bed to make Bel comfortable. Straightening his back as he stood once more, Romario then looked down at Dino. "If he wakes up before the party, maybe find something to distract him with so he doesn't feel so stressed."

"Thanks, Romario; you're the best." Smiling up at his guardian, Dino gave the man a hug; he hated to think about where he could have ended up had Romario not stayed by his side after the blond's father had passed away. "If you have time after we get everything ready, can you please go and buy him some more toys? There's not much here for him, and I don't want him to get bored. He really seems to like solving things and using his head, so maybe some building blocks or something."

Romario nodded, patting the blond on the head. "Of course. Should I get him anything else while I'm out?"

"I think he has everything he needs, but if you think there is something that'll be good for him, please get it."

"Yes, boss."

The blond teen blushed at this, flailing his arms in front of him. "I-I don't want to be your boss, Romario! I just want to be friends with you like we were before my father passed!"

The man chuckled at this, exchanging a few more words with the younger before he left. With Romario gone, Dino and Squalo looked at each other.

"This is going to be a night shittier than I had anticipated…" Letting out a groan, Squalo climbed onto his friend's bed and laid back, dropping his arm over his face.

"It won't be _that _bad, Squalo." Coming to stand by the younger's side, Dino smiled. "I'm sure we'll all have lots of fun."

"Says Mister Popular…"

With a gentle laugh, Dino shook his head. "I'm going to go finish what I was doing. You should try and get some sleep before tonight."

"Yeah…" With that said, Squalo rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, hoping for some rest; tonight was going to go terribly; he could feel it.

_**~~XX~~**_

Sitting quietly at Dino's desk, Bel drew in his new colouring book. He was meticulous with what colours he put where, and Squalo couldn't help but notice that he refused to touch the black outlines of the drawings, much less allow two different colours to touch. The silver-haired teen was sitting beside him, his chin in his hand as he stared out of the window at the darkening sun; people would start arriving any minute now…

Bel had just started picking through his pencils again, sorting their colours from lightest to darkest and making sure they were perfectly even. Once he was content with that, he then picked up a maroon-coloured pencil, just about to bring it over to his colouring book before he stopped and looked at the window. Squalo raised his eyebrow at this, humming.

"What's up?" Grey eyes looked down at the boy, watching as Bel got to his feet and seemingly tiptoed over to the window to look at the estate lawns below. "Brat?"

Bel watched for several seconds before he whimpered and ran to the bed, crawling beneath it as he pulled the blankets up over him so that he was hidden beneath them.

Squalo sighed as he stood up and moved to the window, finding that Bel seemed to have been frightened of the cars that were soon pulling up in the front yard. What he didn't consider was how the youngest had apparently heard them coming. "Voi, brat. It's fine; there's going to be people, but they won't come in here. Bucking Horse has already told them they're not allowed upstairs."

Bel didn't respond to these words in any form; he simply stayed where he was, trying to block out the sounds of car doors and strangers' voices that were quickly overwhelming him.

Squalo, who had learnt better than to go near the boy when he was upset, instead moved back to the desk, intending on letting the younger calm down on his own. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, playing a game on it as he waited for the inevitable music that would soon be blasting through the house.

Sure enough, someone turned on the stereo and raised the volume loud enough for Squalo to clearly hear the vocals, despite being several floors above the gathering. Bel howled at this, kicking the blanket off of him as he slapped his tiny hands against his ears. Squalo jumped up at this, understanding immediately what was wrong; the boy's hearing must be more sensitive than he or Dino had realised.

Moving to Dino's closet, the silver-haired teenager rummaged through his friend's belongings before his hand resurfaced with noise-cancelling earmuffs that the other teenager had acquired from shooting practise when he was younger. He then approached the bed, kneeling down so that he could look beneath it.

"Brat. Brat, look. Don't cry; if you put these over your ears, it won't be so loud." Waiting until Bel had stopped crying enough to reach out and hesitantly accept the earmuffs, Squalo waited until the child had placed them over his ears. "Is that better?"

Bel sniffed as he nodded, reaching up to rub at his eyes. His tiny body shuddered with pain before he dropped his head again, suddenly finding the stitching on his pants to be more interesting. "…"

"So what happened?" Not giving up as he just received a blank stare in response, Squalo next said, "Why did the music upset you?"

"…" Licking his lips, the boy whispered, "…It hurts… It's too loud… It really hurts…"

"It hurts? Your body hurts?" Cocking his head to the side, Squalo frowned; what was Bel saying? How could music cause physical distress?

Bel nodded, reaching up to fiddle with his new earmuffs in a self-conscious manner. He tugged them down further in an attempt to block out more of the music, and though it was still loud to him, at least he could tolerate it at this volume now.

"Well… You can keep those earmuffs." Sitting on his haunches, Squalo dragged his fingers through his hair; he had no idea what to say, having never been in this situation before. "If it's too loud for you again, put them on, okay?"

Bel nodded, his obscured eyes searching the older male's face for the slightest hint of deception; how could someone be so… so _not _like his parents? "…"

Glancing down at his watch, Squalo sighed. "It's almost dinnertime. Are you hungry?"

The blond nodded, curling up in his blankets. "…"

"I'm going to get something to eat from in town. Do you want to come with me?" Understanding when he received a shake of the head in response, the teenager continued on. "Alright. I won't be long. Want some sushi?"

Standing up when the boy nodded, Squalo promised he would be back soon and that no one would bother him. Wishing the younger would at least come out from beneath the bed, the silver-haired male left the room, leaving Bel alone.

_**~~XX~~**_

Not sure of how much time had passed, Bel almost got excited when he heard footsteps heading towards the room. However, that excitement vanished when he picked out that the gait was nothing like Squalo or Dino's, and he begun to fear whoever could be coming closer; should he run? Or was he safe hiding here? Would they even look for him, or let him be instead?

The door opened, and two sets of footsteps entered, accompanied by a soft groan belonging to a female. Bel froze, his body rigid as he became overwhelmed by horror; no one else was supposed to come in here…

"Ah… Fuck…"

Choking on a whimper as he heard the voice filled with something he couldn't describe, Bel curled up into a ball beneath his blankets as he realised that the others had probably heard him.

"Who the fuck's that?" In what Bel would eventually learn to be a tone slurred from too much alcohol, a male called out. "Who's there?"

"Forget it… Just hurry up and fuck me already…"

Bel could have screamed as a set of feet started approaching him, but instead it came out as a muffled yelp. He froze as a hand reached out and tore his blanket away, next grabbing his leg and pulling him out into the open. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he was lifted into the air and thrown onto the bed, sensations he hated quickly overwhelming him.

"You little pervert." A drunken teenager who didn't look much older than Dino and Squalo sneered at the boy. A female stood behind him, swaying on the spot. "I didn't know Cavallone had a younger brother. You hiding down there to watch us fuck?"

Bel could barely move; he was so overwhelmed by everything that was happening, he felt as if he were on the verge of shutting down completely – and that was exactly what he did when, minutes later, he watched the two teenagers shed their clothing and do things he had never seen before.

Falling onto his side, Bel drew his knees to his chest as he hugged them tight, unable to tear his gaze away from the sight before him. He could hear and see everything going on around him, but he couldn't understand it; he couldn't understand _anything_.

The boy had no idea of how long he had been watching this scene for, but soon enough, the door opened again and Squalo stepped in. When the teenager realised what was happening, rage consumed him as he recalled what he had gone through in his own life – what he _still _went through. He was barely conscious of the way he threw the other male against the wall before punching him in the face, and he seemed to have no control over his own body; violent and unforgiving, he punished the other for putting Bel through something so sick. When he was satisfied with the blood that soon dribbled down his classmate's face, he then turned around to face the girl, not caring in the least at the way she had dropped to her knees in fear.

"Voi!" Grabbing hold of long brunette locks and yanking them roughly, Squalo cared nothing for the way the girl cried out. "You fucking slut! It's okay for you to do that kind of shit in front of Bel, but I'm not allowed to look out for him?! You're fucking lucky I don't give you the same treatment your fucking boyfriend got! Get the fuck out of here!"

Shoving the girl to the ground, Squalo came to Bel's side. The boy reacted to nothing; he simply laid on his side in the foetal position, still as a statue. Squalo stayed with the kid, and hours later when Dino came back up, he explained what had happened to his best friend.

Dino was disgusted by what he was hearing, and he couldn't help but reach out to brush his fingers against the back of the younger teen's hand. "Let's do it. Let's get out of Italy for a while and start fresh. Let's not wait any longer; we _all _need a new beginning."

Squalo hummed, knowing the older male was right; all three of them each had bad memories tied to their current way of living, and they had to get away from it if they wanted to move on with their lives.


	4. Chapter 4

The airport was a lot more crowded than Dino had anticipated, and it made him wince to see just how much it was affecting Bel; even with his new earmuffs, the child still trembled as tears ran down his face, his tiny hands holding Squalo's gloved one tightly. The two teens weren't sure what to do to help their charge, but at least the boy wasn't throwing fits and was following along behind them.

Taking a seat down in their terminal, Squalo frowned as he noticed the way Bel curled in on himself. Reaching down to grab one of the backpacks Dino had rested by their feet, he unzipped it and dipped his hand in. Resurfacing with a stuffed rabbit, the silver-haired teen passed it over to the youngest. "Voi, brat. Take your teddy."

Bel didn't seem to take any notice of these words; he just hugged his knees tight to his chest as he hid his face in against them. He flinched and recoiled when Squalo tried to slip the toy into his hold, shaking his head as he scooted further away from the older male. "…"

Turning to Dino, Squalo tossed the teddy back into the bag. "Has the plane already landed?"

"Yes, that's it there. Why?"

"Ask someone if we can get on it now and get the brat some peace." Hoping that the staff would be understanding, Squalo shoved at his friend. "Go. I'm not in the mood for his shit."

Dino hummed in understanding, getting to his feet. Squalo watched him go, his eyes narrowed at the woman his friend spoke to; she would want to let them get on that fucking plane, or else he wasn't going to be very happy…

To Squalo's relief, Dino returned with a bright smile. "She said we can take our seats."

"C'mon, brat." Standing up, the silver-haired male tugged at Bel's hand. "We're getting on the plane."

Bel trembled, but he obeyed; following behind the older male, he kept his head ducked as they entered the boarding tunnel. He was glad when, just a minute later, he was being sat down in a comfortable seat close to the aisle. He watched as his guardians took the two window seats before leaning over Squalo in order to see outside, but he soon whimpered and sat back in his chair as he saw how high up from the ground they were.

"Don't look at it." Running his gloved hand through golden locks, Squalo grabbed the boy's attention. "It's not scary if you don't look at the window."

Bel swallowed thickly as he nodded, his hands starting to fumble with one another. "…I…"

Again, Squalo removed Bel's teddy from its confines. "Hug your rabbit, Bel." Handing it to the child, the older male didn't pull his hands away until the stuffed toy was tucked tightly between the boy's arms. "When you don't feel right, hug it. It might make you feel a little better."

Bel nodded. He rubbed his cheek against the soft fabric of the teddy before he started chewing at it, his hold tightening.

Grabbing a book out of his own bag, Dino looked to his friend. "What are you going to do, Squalo?"

Shrugging, the younger teenager said, "Well, does it fucking look like I have a lot of options? I'm going to sleep."

Glancing down at his watch, Dino found that it was nearing five o'clock in the evening. They had all been up early that morning, getting the last of their belongings ready for the move. Romario had gone ahead to Japan earlier in order to finalise everything and would meet them at the airport when they arrived, so it was up to the two teens to take care of Bel and get him overseas safely.

"What if Bel needs something? He likes you more than me." Dino cocked his head to the side, finding it hard to take care of their little friend; while Bel seemed to like Squalo a little more each day, the same couldn't be said about Dino.

"Then wake me up or something. I don't know…" Grumpy from the lack of sleep he had been having, Squalo shrugged. "Shut up and let me sleep."

Dino didn't argue; Squalo _did _need rest – all of them did. Opening his book, he started reading the first chapter, relieved that Bel was playing so quietly with a toy he had pulled out of his bag and didn't seem to be too fussed when the plane started filling with people. The child took it better than the teen had expected when the plane took off, Bel just needing a bit of reassurance that he was safe before quietening down and going back to spinning the wheels on his toy car.

The blond teenager didn't pay too much attention to his surroundings for a while, but when he looked over to check on Bel an hour later, he couldn't help but smile as he found the boy resting against Squalo as he slept, his tiny hand holding Squalo's shirt. Squalo's own sleep didn't seem to be disturbed by this; if anything, he instead held a look far more peaceful than he had donned in a while.

Dino turned back to his book, hoping that their big change would benefit them all.

_**~~XX~~**_

When the three finally arrived in one of Japan's many airports, they were greeted instantly by Romario, who had been waiting faithfully in the lobby. Upon seeing his charge, he had left his seat and clapped the blond on the back, a wide smile on his face as joy bubbled up inside of him; Dino was truly someone very important to him, and he would do anything for the teenager.

"Ah, Romario." Wrapping his arms around his guardian, Dino smiled as well. "I missed you. How are things up here?"

"I've set up your new apartment, and I've enrolled the three of you into very highly recommended schools. I'm afraid I was unable to get Bel into a class with kids his own age; the school wanted to start him fresh as he has no history of schooling that we know of."

"You did your best, Romario; hopefully he'll make some friends." Glancing down at the boy hiding behind Squalo, Dino smiled at Bel. "Hear that, Bel? You're going to start school soon."

Bel whimpered at these words, not wanting to go to school; he just wanted to stay with Squalo because he felt comfortable with the silver-haired teenager.

Turning back to Romario, Dino cocked his head to the side. "Can we go home now? It must be very late here."

"It is. Come on; let's get all your things." Leading the way, Romario walked through the airport calmly. While the younger three would be living in an apartment together by themselves, he wouldn't be far away if they needed him; he would never forgive himself if anything were to happen to Dino.

_**~~XX~~**_

"This is your room, Bel." Struggling to keep his eyes open, Squalo didn't stuff around; now that Bel knew where he would be sleeping, he had every intention of going to sleep in his own bed. "Goodnight."

Bel let out a sob as he grabbed Squalo's sleeve, preventing the older male from leaving. Shaking his head, he felt his heart begin to speed up in fright; he had always slept in Dino's room with the others with him, so it was terrifying to suddenly be left alone in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar country. "…"

"Go to sleep, brat." Not in the mood for fucking around, Squalo couldn't help but get grumpy. "It's too fucking late for this shit."

Bel just protested more, and when the teenager finally realised that the boy wasn't going to be getting into his own bed any time soon, Squalo sighed. "Whatever. Get your fucking blanket. You can sleep with me."

Glad that he wouldn't have to part from Squalo tonight, Bel bounded into his room. He took the familiar sheet he had been sleeping with back in Italy from the bed, bundling it all up into his arms as he hurried after Squalo. Following the older male into what he soon worked out was Squalo's bedroom, Bel didn't bother to look around at his new surroundings; he just followed his guardian up onto the bed, sitting on his haunches as he spread his blanket out over Squalo's own. Once he was content with not feeling the fabric of the teenager's covers, he rolled himself up into his blanket like a cocoon, close enough to feel the other's body heat, but not enough for any contact to be made between them.

Squalo didn't bother saying goodnight; as soon as he had turned the light off and slipped beneath the blankets, he was out to it. Bel, however, couldn't sleep; he was too daunted by the strange noises outside and the complete strangeness of his new home. But with Squalo by his side, he laid quietly on the bed for a few hours until he himself finally succumbed to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

When Bel awoke that morning, it was too a loud crash coming from somewhere within his new home. Finding that Squalo had already left the bed, Bel followed soon after; he didn't know what that loud noise was, but he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to hear it again; he hated loud noises – especially when he didn't expect them.

Soon finding himself in a kitchen, Bel tilted his head as he watched Squalo and Dino pick up pots and pans from the marble floor. "Squ…?"

Squalo looked over his shoulder at Bel's voice, finding the boy hiding partially in the threshold of the kitchen and the hallway. "What?"

"…" Looking to his feet as he nudged the carpet with his toes, Bel tensed a little; how did he covey his feelings?

As if sensing the younger's dilemma, Squalo shook his head. "It's fine; this fucking idiot just knocked all the cookware from their hooks. Bet he woke up the rest of the fucking complex with his stupidity…"

Dino offered a shy chuckle at this as he rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "Sorry, Squalo…"

Shrugging, Squalo put what he had picked up onto the counter closest to him. "Whatever. Just hurry up with what you were going to cook."

Bel watched as Squalo started approaching him. He instinctively took a few steps backwards before stilling, coming to solidify the learning that Squalo wasn't scary like his family; as hard as it was sometimes, he could almost trust the older male close to him. "…"

"Have you had a look around the apartment yet?"

Shaking his head, Bel closed the distance between them. He wrapped his arms lightly around Squalo for a brief second before he pulled back, looking back at his feet once more. "…Not big…"

"What's not big? The apartment?" When he received a nod in response, Squalo couldn't help but snicker. "Of course. The mansion was huge, wasn't it? Lots of room to explore. But there's not very much to see here, is there?"

Bel nodded, opening his mouth to say something else, but he soon stopped and turned to look out of the large window above the counters. Moving closer to them, Bel hoisted himself up so that he could press his palms against the window and look out. His mouth went dry as he noticed they were very high up from the ground, but with a bit of rocking, he calmed down; Dino's old room back in Italy had been very high up, too, but they had still been safe.

"Don't climb onto the bench, Bel." Putting the rest of the fallen cookware onto the counter opposite Bel, Dino sighed; what should he cook for breakfast? He had never cooked before, so he really wasn't sure of what he was doing. "Come down from there."

Looking over his shoulder at the stronger blond, Bel frowned for a few seconds before he looked back out of the window. Unlike at the mansion where all he could see was nature, the boy had a good view of the street below them. He was fascinated by all of the traffic moving along together, and all of the pedestrians walking along the footpath. The sounds of everyone's daily life that he could hear even from his height was loud, but it wasn't frightening to him like usual; it instead interested him now that he knew he was safe inside and nowhere near those strangers.

"Bel?" Dino moved to stand next to the boy so that he could wash his hands. "What are you looking at?"

Cocking his head to the side, the boy spoke. "Why are there lots of people outside? Why aren't they in their homes, too?"

"Well, most people go outside every day for lots of different things." Remaining patient with the child, Dino tried to answer as best he could. "Why do you think they would stay home?"

"Because it's scary outside. There's monsters and bad people outside. You get hurt if you go outside."

"Is that why you don't like to go outside?" Well aware of the fact that Bel had rarely ventured further into the mansion and had never gone outside except to go to the airport, Dino softened his demeanour; this was a very important question to ask because it would help them understand the boy a little better.

Bel nodded. "I only went outside because daddy was hurting me again. He scared me so much, and I wanted to get away. He knew all my hiding spots inside, so I wanted to find one outside where no one would find me and I would be safe from the monsters, too."

Wanting to tell Bel that there was no such thing as monsters, Dino had a thought; what if Bel believed _humans _were the monsters? He had probably been abused enough to believe that. "Well, you'll be safe if you go outside here. No one will hurt you. You're _safe_."

"I don't want to go outside…" Dropping his head, Bel started rocking again.

"You don't have to," Dino promised. "Not today. Today is for relaxing."

Turning back to the window, Bel looked out of it for a while longer before he decided he was also curious about his new home. Jumping down from the counter, he left the kitchen and instead found the living room. It was only small, with a single couch and two chairs tucked away against one wall with a TV set against the wall opposite. A bookshelf and a potted plant took up each end of the window on the wall adjacent, with vibrant purple curtains drawn and giving a view of the dark grey sky above them.

Moving to one of the chairs, Bel warily pressed his palm against it to see what it felt like. To his relief, it was fabric that he was okay with touching. Pulling himself up into it, he sat quietly, seeing that the TV had been left on and there were cartoons playing. He focused his attention solely on the cartoons, blocking out his surroundings; he was very interested by what was showing, even if he didn't understand what was happening.

It wasn't until Squalo came into the living room and called his name many times did Bel finally return to reality. He found that he was being handed a bowl of porridge, and he couldn't help but crinkle his nose at it; it looked very unappealing to him, and the smell didn't help matters. "No…"

"Brat, you need to eat breakfast." Trying to sit the bowl on Bel's lap, Squalo growled in frustration when the younger pulled his knees to his chest. "I know the Bucking Horse can't cook for shit, but it doesn't taste that bad. You need to eat."

Shaking his head, Bel hid his face against his knees. "…"

With a sigh, Squalo took the bowl back. "Fine. I'll eat it. But you're not going without breakfast. What do you want to eat?"

"…" Lifting his head, Bel hummed softly before he whispered, "Sushi…"

Squalo nodded. "You like sushi, don't you?"

The boy hummed in response, not knowing how to reply; it was true that after having had sushi, he wanted it all the time, but did that mean he _liked _it? He wasn't sure. "…"

Straightening his back, Squalo returned to the kitchen, pushing Dino away from the mess he had made earlier. "I'll clean this shit; you're only making it worse."

Looking down at the mess of milk and oats spread out along the counter, Dino chuckled sheepishly. "That might be an idea…"

Shooing the older male away, Squalo then started to clean up. He wasn't entirely sure of what was wrong with the boy as they hadn't had many chances to take him to a doctor, but once they were all settled in here, they would definitely take Bel to see someone.

Hopefully Bel would just continue to open up to them a little more each day; he was already emerging from his shell.


	6. Chapter 6

Having been feeling unwell that morning, Squalo had stayed home while Dino took Bel to an appointment with a behavioural therapist, having been referred there by a doctor a few weeks previous. He had been curled up on the couch with a blanket as he read peacefully, but his attention was soon grabbed by the sound of the front door being unlocked.

Turning his head to see the two blonds stepping inside, Squalo was quick to ask, "What did they say?"

Shaking his head, Dino sighed before he approached his friend. Dropping some information pamphlets on the younger's lap, a tired look crossed his face. "He's got autism, Squalo…"

Raising his eyebrow at the defeat in his friend's voice, Squalo couldn't help but tense; what was with the sudden attitude change? Dino had never seemed bothered by Bel's behaviour until now, so…

Was the older male _giving up?_

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything?" Slapping the brochures from his lap, Squalo sat up straighter. "I thought you liked Bel."

"I _do. _I just don't think we're cut out to be looking after an _autistic _kid, Squalo. We aren't even out of school yet."

"So when I first told you to get rid of him, you wouldn't fucking listen because you wanted him, but now that you think he's going to be more work, you don't want him anymore."

"Squalo…"

"_You _brought him to Japan with us; _you _were the one who wanted him in the first place – don't you _dare _fucking dump him off on someone else after all this; he probably thinks that he's finally found somewhere he's safe, and let me tell you; it is _not _a pleasant feeling to know that no one fucking _wants _you. If you weren't prepared to take care of him, then why the fuck did you get his hopes up by giving him a home? Just because there's a title to his behaviour doesn't change a fucking thing; you were dealing with it fine before, and you'll still deal with it fine now."

"Do you even know what autism _is?" _Pointing to what he had dropped on the younger earlier, Dino let out a frustrated sound. "We can't… _deal _with that on our own…"

"You honestly think he's going to have every behavioural issue known to exist just because he's autistic? Tch! You're disgusting! You should know him well enough by now to know that he's actually easier than a lot of other autistic brats! If you don't want him, then _I'll _fucking have him!"

"Squalo…" Dino knew he had greatly hurt the other; Squalo was someone who wasn't wanted, no matter where he want – hell, even his own _parents _hadn't wanted him and had sent him off to live with his uncle, not a care in the world for the fact that the man sexually abused his nephew every chance he has given. The blond hadn't meant to come off as if he didn't want Bel anymore; he had just tried to convey his worries that they wouldn't be suitable carers for the child, and he had messed up in doing so.

Kicking the blanket off of his body, Squalo got to his feet with a few grumbles. He ignored the nauseas feeling that was plaguing him as he approached the hallway, having noticed that Bel was hiding behind the doorway and watching them, resembling very much a frightened child who wasn't sure if its parents were fighting or not.

"Voi. Brat." Pointing to Bel, Squalo coughed a little. "Come here."

Bel hesitated before doing as told, his feet not making a sound as he approached the teenager. "…"

"What game do you want to play?" Knowing full-well that Bel didn't play with many of his toys, and didn't seem to know how to play with his imagination, Squalo was prepared for the usual games the boy had played, usually involving jigsaw puzzles and spinning the wheels on his toy cars and trucks.

Cocking his head to the side, Bel hummed as he thought about this question. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do; he was a little tense from watching the two teens argue, and it frightened him a little; he hated feeling as if he were caught in the aggression around him. "…"

Squalo was patient, letting the boy think. When Bel simply tugged at his sleeve a few moments later in order to get Squalo to follow him, the child led his guardian over to the window by the front door, pointing down to the park he could see behind the apartment complex.

Looking down to see what Bel was pointing at, Squalo sighed. It wasn't that he didn't want to take the boy outside, but it was cold and wet out there, and the teen was already sick as it was. "I don't know, Bel…"

Stomping his foot on the floor, Bel made a whining sound. He jabbed the window with his finger, his lips twisting as he struggled to find a facial expression for what he was feeling. "…"

"It's been raining, and…" Noticing that there were other kids already in the playground, Squalo sighed. He shrugged, knowing that sooner or later, they were going to have to try and get him to socialise with other kids; even at school, Bel kept to himself and didn't go near anyone else. Plus, this was the first time the boy willingly wanted to go outside, so if he had a chance to finally see for himself that there were no such things as monsters, his anxiety might finally lessen. "Alright. Fine. But if it starts to rain again, we're coming back inside."

Bel perked up at these words, instantly running to the front door and disappearing onto the balcony corridor, not waiting for Squalo. Squalo called after him to wait, but it was no use; the boy didn't seem to hear him.

"Please look at those pamphlets, Squalo; that's a lot more work than I thought would be involved with him…" Speaking quietly from where he stood in the living room, Dino watched his friend with a sad look; he wanted to help Bel – he really did! – but they were fourteen; how were they supposed to care for an autistic child when they themselves didn't even have much experience with children in the first place? Maybe they should give him to Romario instead…

"I already know about fucking autism." Shooting the older male a glare, Squalo went to his room to get a jacket. When he came back, he hissed, "I don't live under a fucking rock; Bel isn't defined by that fucking paper you seem to be worshipping. He's his own person; he doesn't have every issue under the sun. At least he's fucking getting out of his shell a bit more… I already know how to work with him, and he isn't going to suddenly pop up with a shitload more issues just because he has a diagnosis. What fucking world are you living in?"

With that said, Squalo followed Bel out of the apartment. He shuddered from the cold as he made his way down to the playground; that little brat had better be fucking thankful he left the warmth of the couch…

Finally arriving at the playground, Squalo sat down on one of the benches beneath a rain shelter as he wrapped his jacket tighter around him. He was quick to find Bel sitting on one of the platforms, spinning a giant dice around on the beam as fast as he could. He showed no interest in any of the other kids around him; he instead seemed fascinated by what he was playing with.

Squalo could see another parent sitting across from him on the other bench, looking at him curiously. She looked to be an older woman, with curly black hair and a thick coat around her. Trying to ignore her, Squalo looked back to what Bel was doing, finding that he had yet to explore the other toys around him.

"Is he your little brother?"

Looking over at the woman, Squalo shrugged. He wasn't entirely interested in her, but if he were to live here, it would be easier if he could remain on somewhat-good terms with the other residents. "He's my best friend's little brother. My friend is busy so I'm watching him."

"You live on the seventh floor, don't you? With that blond teenager I see always falling over and dropping things."

"Yeah, that's him." Wishing the woman could mind her own business, Squalo glanced down at his watch; how long could Bel possibly be interested in such a silly toy…?

"It's just the three of you? Where are your parents? You're not from Japan, are you?"

"We came from Italy, and it isn't any of your business where our parents are." Hating to talk about his family, Squalo couldn't help but get hostile. However, before the woman had a chance to reply, a startled cry from the playground drew both of their attention.

"Bel, don't!" Jumping off the bench, Squalo and the other woman ran to the platform Bel was on, trying to rescue the little girl he was hitting and biting. "Stop it, Bel! Let her go!"

When the girl was pulled away from him, Bel left it at that; he simply turned back to the giant dice, spinning it again as if he hadn't just attacked another child. He didn't understand why Squalo started speaking to him in a stern tone because he hadn't done anything wrong; that girl had tried to play with his dice and he didn't want to share.

"Keep that kid away from mine!" The woman shouted at Squalo, pulling her other children close to her. "Where are his parents?! With behaviour like that, he needs to be pulled right into line!"

Squalo ignored these words, used to being judged by complete strangers; he just sighed and sat next to Bel, pulling his knees to his chest. "Aren't you bored yet, brat?"

Bel glanced at him for a few seconds before turning back to the dice, oblivious to the woman storming off with her own children in tow. He was glad they were leaving; he hadn't liked them being around him, especially now since he knew they would try and touch what was _his_. "…"

Burying his face against his knees, Squalo wished he had never agreed to coming out here; he felt like death warmed up, and he wanted to go to bed.

Bel was certainly lucky that Squalo liked him so much, or else the boy would have found himself being dragged back inside and left to entertain himself while Squalo slept.


	7. Chapter 7

When Dino and Squalo both graduated from school, Bel had been overjoyed; he knew that meant he could spend more time with them in the mornings, and that they wouldn't be so busy after school hours with homework. However, his elation had quickly ended when Squalo told him that he and Dino would be going to university next, and that though they would be home a bit more, they would still be very busy.

Bel, nevertheless, was just glad that his two guardians were able to make more time for him.

"Ne, Squa?"

Looking down at the twelve-year-old holding his hand tightly, Squalo cocked his head. "What?"

"I want ice cream." Unable to look the older male in the eyes, Bel instead stared past the other as he spoke. He tugged at his ear muffs in a self-conscious manner, hating the strange looks he received, but they were one of the few reasons he was able to leave the apartment; he needed them to block out the deafening sounds around him, or else he would continue to shut down.

"You always want ice cream." Rolling his eyes, Squalo looked over at the ice cream stand not far from them. "Fine, brat. But only because you've behaved today."

Bel giggled, throwing his arms in the air as joy bubbled up inside of him. "Ice cream! Ice cream!"

Squalo glared at the looks passers-by gave to Bel, unaware of the boy pulling his hand out of the stronger male's grip. He only noticed that the blond had left his side when he was startled by the screeching of tyres and a car horn behind him, turning around to see that his charge had ran out in front of moving traffic.

"Bel!" Chasing after Bel – the boy most likely having no idea how close he had come to being scraped off the ground – Squalo made sure to grab the boy's hand and hold him in place. Leaning down, he growled, "Do you realise how fucking dangerous that was? You almost got hit by a car! Don't ever run across the road like that again!"

Bel was tense, his head dropped at the scolding. He trembled slightly, not used to Squalo being mad at him – but what confused him the most was that he really didn't understand what he had done wrong; Squalo had said he could have ice cream, so he went to get ice cream. "Squ-Squ…"

Sighing, Squalo dropped the scolding; they could talk about it when they got home. "Whatever, brat. Just go get your fucking ice cream. Here." Handing the child money, the older male watched Bel finish his journey to the ice cream stand.

Taking a seat over on a bench not far from the stand, Squalo waited for his charge to come to his side. It didn't take long for Bel to come back, two ice cream cones in his hands as he started devouring his strawberry one first.

"No wonder you've got so many cavities." Pointing to the cones, Squalo scrunched his nose up. "Look at the shit you're always eating."

"I like ice cream, Squa~" His head tilting to the side, Bel watched his guardian with a curious expression. "Why don't _you _like ice cream?"

"It tastes like crap." Backing away when Bel shoved one of his cones in his face, Squalo shook his head. "I don't want any."

"But it tastes really good, Squ~ Try it~"

Knowing that Bel wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted, Squalo fought back his gag reflex as he tentatively licked at the ice cream. He shuddered at the taste, but he couldn't help but smile at the gleeful sound Bel made.

"It's good, isn't it~?" Licking his ice cream again, Bel waited for an answer.

"…Yeah, brat." Not wanting to upset the other, Squalo told the boy what he wanted to hear.

"I told you~!" Bel observed his surroundings while he focused on his ice cream. He wasn't very interested by most of what he saw, but upon noticing a couple a bit off in the distance, he cocked his head to the side. "Squ? Why do people kiss?"

"Why are you asking _me _that? Do I _look _like an expert on people?" Seeing that Bel quickly tensed at his tone of voice, Squalo took a deep breath before he spoke again, this time in a softer tone. "People kiss because of stupid-ass reasons. I don't know why; I hate even the thought of kissing. Makes me want to throw up."

"Girls and boys kiss each other. Why does Dino kiss other boys?" Forgetting all about his ice cream, Bel fidgeted slightly.

Shrugging, Squalo couldn't help but spit out his dislike. "The Bucking Horse is a fucking fag. He likes to kiss other guys."

"Is that bad?" Unable to understand why Squalo suddenly seemed full of anger, Bel didn't know what to think; was Squalo mad at him or Dino? Had he done something wrong to make Squalo mad at him?

"It's disgusting! It's fucking unnatural!" With memories of his past with his uncle passing through his mind, Squalo couldn't help but shudder again; how filthy he still felt from his uncle's touches…

"Does that mean you don't like Dino?" Confused by this, Bel didn't understand; if Squalo hated Dino, why were they living together? Why were they best friends?

"What? No; it's not that I don't like _him_; I just feel sickened by his fucking lifestyle."

Bel blinked. "When I saw Dino kiss his boyfriends, it made my stomach feel weird, but not like I was sick."

"Weird?"

The boy nodded. He opened his mouth to continue on, but a dark blush quickly crossed his cheeks and he fidgeted. "…"

"What is it?" Knowing this behaviour well, Squalo was patient; whatever Bel wanted to tell him was embarrassing to the child. "You know you can tell me anything, brat."

Making an uncomfortable sound, Bel curled in on himself. "…"

"Bel. What's the matter? It's okay; you can tell me." Putting his gloved hand on the younger's shoulder, Squalo waited for his charge to be ready to reply.

"…" His blush darkening, Bel soon whispered, "…It makes… my penis go hard, too…"

Trying to ignore how disgusted he felt by these words, he shrugged it off; surely Bel wasn't… like _that… _"Yeah, well. That's a normal thing; happens to every guy. When else does it happen?"

"…" Hiding his face, Bel continued to whisper. "…When I wake up…"

"Any other time?"

"…When you and Dino come out of the shower… And when Dino makes those funny noises at night…"

Squalo was shocked, uncomfortable to know that Bel looked at them both in such ways, even if unconsciously; was Bel trying to tell him that he liked boys, too? "…"

"Squ-Squ?" Tugging at his guardian's sleeve, Bel frowned.

Shaking his head, Squalo was unaware of how his face had paled. "You like boys, too, brat…?"

"I don't know. Am I a fag?"

"Don't call yourself a fag, Bel."

Bel tensed as worry filled him; what if Squalo was mad at him for being a fag? The older male certainly seemed mad at Dino for it. "…"

Palming at his face, Squalo shook his head. "Bel. Look; I don't give a fuck who you like. Girl or boy; I don't _care. _You can like whoever you want to, and I'll still support you. Fuck, I supported the Bucking Horse through his breakups, haven't I? Just because I don't like fags doesn't mean I don't _care_. Don't ever let someone make you feel as if you can't like who you do just because _they _don't like it."

"…" Looking at his lap, Bel nodded. He wasn't entirely sure of what he felt for other people; he had never had friends before, instead fighting with all the other kids at his school. He didn't like to be around other people, wanting only Squalo and Dino. He had never really felt anything but fear and hatred towards the people outside of what he viewed as his family; all he knew was that he felt only towards them and no one else.

Reaching out to pat golden locks, Squalo let his entire being soften; whatever would help get his point across, because he could _never _dislike this boy who had come into his life when he had been at his worst and somehow levelled out the depression he had been rapidly drowning in. "It's _okay _that you feel this way. Towards me and Dino; it doesn't fucking matter. You're twelve; you're not _supposed _to know what you feel just yet; you need time to figure it out. I don't care if you're a fag or whatever; you're still Belphegor, and that's what I want. Now eat your ice cream; it's melting all over your hands."

Bel nodded, quickly lapping up the ice cream that was clinging to his flesh. He was glad that Squalo could talk to him in ways he could understand, because when he tried telling things to Dino, sometimes the blond just confused him even more. After finishing his first cone, he then asked, "Is _Squa _a fag?"

Shrugging, Squalo chewed at his lip. He didn't know his orientation; just that his uncle had truly confused him with everything the man had done; did it mean he _was _gay because he had gotten _hard _beneath those touches? He had even _orgasmed _during it? But he had _hated _it! So why… did his body betray him…?

Closing his eyes, Squalo fought back tears. "…I don't know, Bel… Let's not talk about this anymore."

Bel didn't understand; he just knew that when Squalo said things like that, he had to stop talking about what was on his mind. He didn't know why this was, but when he had asked, he just received a shrug in response. "Squ?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I get more ice cream?"

Looking down to see that Bel had already finished both cones, Squalo couldn't help but snort. "Fine. But if I have to take you back to the dentist again, it's your fault for eating so much sugar."

"I don't like the dentist, Squ; it's really scary." Getting up from the bench, Bel accepted the coins that were handed to him. "I hate going there."

"I know you do, brat. Look after your teeth more and you won't have to go back there all the time." Watching the boy turn around and skip over to the ice cream stand, Squalo was glad that Bel was now a lot more open with him and Dino, and had almost fully emerged from his shell; while the child still found it extremely difficult to talk to strangers, he could do so if he greatly wanted something. There was still a long way to go with him, but at least now the two teenagers could look after him properly, having learnt all his quirks and behavioural issues and knowing how to work around them.

_**~~XX~~**_

One of the first things Squalo had figured out about Bel was that he very much liked routine, and found it extremely hard to cope without it or whenever it was disturbed. Squalo knew this, but there was only so much he could do at times.

Knocking on his charge's bedroom door, Squalo waited a few seconds before he opened it; Bel himself had said earlier that morning that he was starting to hit puberty, so he found it appropriate to give the younger a little more privacy than usual; who knew how far the brat was into it. "Brat."

Bel was seated at his desk, a pen in his hand as he did his homework. He cocked his head to the side, wondering if he had lost track of time again and his guardian was here to tell him how long he had left before he changed tasks; he could have sworn he had only just started… "Squ-Squ?"

"How far through your homework are you?" Taking a seat on the boy's bed, Squalo waited for an answer.

"I just did three questions, Squ. I still have lots to do."

"Do you think you can leave that for now? I have to talk to you about something." Not surprised when the other tensed, Squalo continued on. "It's really important, and we have to go somewhere."

"Squ…" Wrapping his arms around him, Bel looked down at his lap. "But this is my homework time…"

"Bel, it's very important, and it can't wait." Squalo wasn't surprised that he had to calm his charge down, the younger upset by unexpectedly having to drop his routine in favour of something he didn't know about, but Bel was getting better at soothing himself when he was distressed; he just still sometimes had extreme meltdowns if he were feeling particularly stressed. "It's okay, Bel. You're safe."

Bel sucked in a deep breath as his rocking slowed slightly. He was still anxious, but Squalo knew him well enough to know that when he was rocking slowly, he was able to listen to what the silver-haired male wanted to tell him. "…"

Reaching out to thread his gloved fingers through soft golden locks, Squalo tried to speak in the softest tone he owned. "Now that I've finished school, I got a job as a cashier for in between my university classes. When I save up enough money, we're going to move into our own house. Just you and me. Okay?"

Bel's rocking increased again, smaller whimpers escaping his lips. His mouth went dry as anxiety consumed him, but when Squalo wrapped his arms around him and held him in a tight, reassuring hug, he was slowly able to relax; not even Dino was able to calm him down like Squalo could. "…"

Squalo knew what was stressing Bel out; the boy had become so used to their little apartment, he didn't want to leave it. It was the only place he had truly felt safe and loved, and it must have horrified him to know that he was going to have to leave his happy place soon – Bel was probably terrified of the idea that, if he were to leave here, he would no longer be loved and wanted.

"Even if we do move, it doesn't mean anything is going to have to change," Squalo promised. "No matter where we are, I still want you. Okay? So don't be scared; no matter what, you're still safe with me."

Bel nodded, his breathing laboured as he trembled. He was slowly getting back in control of himself, his small hands coming up to hold the older male's shirt in a vice-grip. Hiding his face in against the other's chest, the child was thankful that Squalo's clothing didn't agitate him today; he just wanted to curl up on his guardian's lap and stay there until he was okay again.

"Get up, brat; we have to go and look at some houses." Shoving light-heartedly at the boy, Squalo wasn't surprised when Bel whined loudly and pressed himself closer against. Giving in, he resigned himself to the fact that they wouldn't be going anywhere until Bel had completely calmed down and accepted what would be happening.

Thankfully, Bel hadn't been as difficult about it as he had been expecting, because _fuck _that kid could really throw temper tantrums when he decided he didn't like something.


	8. Chapter 8

Four more years had passed by quickly. In that time, Squalo and Dino had finished their university courses and, while Dino had become a teacher, Squalo had gotten a position as vice principal at the same school due to having known the head principal for several years. Bel had gotten a little better, but he was still very difficult at times – like now, as Squalo tried to get him ready for the first day of school for the year.

"Brat, get your ass out of bed already!" Trying to take the blanket Bel was hiding beneath, Squalo couldn't help but feel very frustrated; he understood that the boy was just acting out because he had gotten used to the school holidays, but fucking hell, Squalo needed to be at work soon. "I'm not telling you again!"

Bel kicked out as tears streamed down his face, trying to shake off Squalo's gloveless hands that were only hurting him. "Go away! I don't want to go!"

"Damnit, brat! If you don't get up soon, I'm going to be late for work! And then Xanxus is going to be pissed at me! Not _you_. _Me_."

"I don't want to go!" Playing tug-of-war with his blanket, Bel dropped all of his weight in an effort to remain on his bed, but fighting Squalo over his blanket was only getting him pulled closer to the edge of the mattress. "I hate school!"

"I know you do, but it's your third year, brat; you _have _to go!" With a sigh, the man let go of the blanket. He watched as Bel promptly hid beneath it once again, curling up in a cocoon. Trying his hardest to work with the younger, he ran his fingers through his long bangs before saying, "I know you hate school, but you have new classmates this year. You might make some friends. I've already looked at the class roster, and none of the people in your class were in it last year."

"I don't wanna make friends…" Shaking his head, Bel peeped out from beneath the blanket. "I don't like anyone from school…"

"You don't _know _everyone from school." Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Squalo folded his arms against his chest. "Bel, if you get out of bed and get ready for school, I promise you can have sushi for breakfast. And then when we get to school, I'll make you a chocolate milkshake. Okay?"

Slowly lowering the blanket further, Bel whispered, "Can I have fatty tuna…?"

"Of course, Bel. Do you want anything else with your rice?"

Shaking his head, Bel slowly got off the bed. "…"

Squalo had learnt long ago that Bel usually became very quiet whenever he didn't feel right. He was very outgoing with Squalo when he was happy, but if something was making him anxious, confused or upset, he would withdraw back into his shell. It was always upsetting to the man when he did this, but he had to remain understanding; Bel's condition was very debilitating for him at times.

Trying his best to remain as patient as he could with the child, Squalo waited until Bel had brought his school uniform over to him. Unbuttoning his charge's warm pyjama shirt, Squalo was careful not to touch the younger's bare skin as he helped Bel with his favourite striped shirt; the boy was allowed to wear it beneath his uniform as it helped ease the pain the fabric of the uniform made him feel.

"Arms up." Speaking quietly, Squalo waited until the boy had obeyed; pulling the shirt over Bel's head, he helped thin arms fit into the sleeves. Bel was cooperative when it came time for his uniform top and, once Squalo had left to give him privacy, he put his pants on himself; ever since he was little, letting Squalo dress him reassured him that he was loved and cared for, helping him unwind from his stress.

Once he was dressed, Bel took his hairbrush out to the kitchen so that his guardian could brush his hair for him; whenever he tried to do it himself, it would always yank painfully at his scalp. Squalo, however, knew how to do it without hurting him.

Squalo never minded caring for his child, even though everyone frowned upon him for encouraging Bel's over-dependency; all that mattered to him was that Bel trusted him enough to want him to dote upon the younger.

_**~~XX~~**_

Sitting quietly in Squalo's office, Bel's legs swung back and forth as he sat at his guardian's desk. He wasn't used to having to come to school so early, but he hated the bus, and Squalo didn't like him walking around town by himself; the man had been able to coax his charge into coming with him through promises of letting him bring one of his handheld gaming consoles to school with them.

"What are you doing, brat?"

Looking up from the Gameboy he was playing with, Bel paused it as he showed the man. "I'm winning, Squa~!"

"That's good." Looking back down at the paperwork he was going over, Squalo was glad that Bel was adjusting; he had been worried that the boy wouldn't cope with suddenly having to come to school earlier than he was used to. "Finish your milkshake; class will start in ten minutes."

"Okay." Sucking at his straw for a few seconds, Bel then looked back at Squalo. "Can I see who's in my class?"

Nodding, Squalo reached down into one of his drawers. Pulling out a piece of paper, he slid it across the desk for Bel to look at. "I got you into the Bucking Horse's class. Do you know anyone in it?"

Scanning the list of names, Bel soon nodded. He pointed out one of them, sliding the sheet back to his guardian. "I hate Kyouya."

"Wait; _that _Kyouya?" Feeling bad that he had put his kid into a class with the Head Prefect of the Disciplinary Committee – also known as the school bully – Squalo hoped nothing would come of it; he knew for a fact that his kid and the Prefect clashed violently, and only too often had he been called in to be told that Bel had been fighting again. "Stay away from him, okay?"

Bel nodded, turning back to his game. "Kyouya's a jerk to me."

"Make sure to tell me or Bucking Horse if he does anything, but _you _have to stop approaching him first, too. It goes both ways, brat." Checking the time on his watch, Squalo stood up. "Come on, brat; I need to talk to that clumsy fuck before class. Leave your game here so you don't lose it."

The boy passed the game over, watching as Squalo hid it securely in the drawer. "Can I have it back after school?"

"Of course, brat; I just don't want you to lose it." Walking over to the door, Squalo waited until Bel came to his side before leaving the office. "You can come into my office on breaks and play it if you want."

The blond beamed up at Squalo, glad that he was finally getting support at school; he had been so used to being left alone to hide wherever he could, but now he had Squalo and Dino to look after him. "I wanna stay with you all the time, Squ-Squ~"

Smiling down at his charge, Squalo patted golden locks. "You can stay with me whenever you don't have classes and I'm not busy."

Throwing himself at the man, Bel wrapped lanky arms around the other's middle, burying his face against Squalo's chest. "I love you, Squa~!"

"I know, Bel." Putting his hands ever-so-lightly on thin shoulders, Squalo let the boy stay where he was. "I love you, too."

Bel broke away after a minute or two. His smile brightened as he looked up at Squalo, glad to hear the man's words; Squalo was his most favourite person in the whole world. Taking hold of one of the larger hands in both of his, he started swinging it in a childish manner as he walked, chanting away to himself in his happiness; it was rare to see the boy in such a good mood, so his guardian was glad to see it now of all times; hopefully Bel would finally have a day at school that he didn't hate.

Squalo allowed the boy to do what he wanted, even when one of the smaller hands left his in order to grab his hair instead. He knew that, despite Bel's sensory issues, he was a very affectionate child and loved nothing more than being close to his guardian; the long-haired man considered himself lucky to have such a loving kid. Bel couldn't always handle having his affections returned, however, it sometimes being far too painful for him, but that never stopped him from tackling Squalo to the ground and wrapping his limbs around the man; even if Bel couldn't be touched at times, that never stopped him from being the one doing the touching.

"What does Squa need to talk to Dino about?" Tilting his head backwards to look at the older male, Bel waited for a reply.

"Just making sure he knows what he's doing; it's our first day here and I don't trust him to be ready." Rolling his eyes, Squalo shrugged. "You know what he's like; he's probably spilt coffee all over his time sheet or something."

"Shishi~ Can I visit Squ-Squ during class?"

Shaking his head, Squalo wished he could say yes; he knew how much Bel hated school and how unhappy he was here, but he couldn't do it; no other student would be allowed such privileges and he wasn't going to treat Bel specially; he would be furious if another teacher favoured their child over his own, so he wouldn't do it to anyone else's kid. "Not unless you really need me for something important. If you're feeling stressed, you can. Otherwise, you have to stay in class with the other students."

Bel looked downcast at these words, but he didn't say anything else; they had arrived at Dino's office already. Without knocking, Squalo pushed the door open and stepped in. He found his best friend talking to three other students, laughter having filled the room seconds before his entrance.

"Ah, Squalo." Waving at his friend, Dino's hazel eyes were as soft as ever. "I've told you about Tsuna, Takeshi and Hayato, haven't I?"

"Yeah." Having heard often about the three teenagers Dino had befriended a bit over a year ago, Squalo shrugged. He looked down as he felt Bel grab his arm and hide behind him, peeking out cautiously. "This them?"

Dino nodded. "Guys, this is Squalo. Bel is hiding behind him."

Squalo wanted to move and push Bel towards the other kids and encourage him to try and make friends, but Bel couldn't be pushed into the deep end like that; they had to gradually introduce him to new people and situations so that he could slowly adjust to them. Instead, he looked down at the boy and said, "Say hello, brat."

Bel just whined and pressed himself closer to Squalo. The man understood, and he didn't push any further.

"You. Takeshi brat." His eyes scanning the group until he found the one known as Takeshi, Squalo wasn't surprised when the tallest of the trio pointed to himself; this kid had the perfect build for the hobbies Dino had told him Takeshi indulged in, strong and athletic. Squalo let out a toothy grin in appreciation; he could look past the baseball obsession the younger had in favour of what had _really_ piqued Squalo's interest when Dino had told him about the teenagers. "You're the katana brat, then."

Takeshi, a tall, dark-haired teenager, let out a cheerful laugh. "That's me. Dino said you're great with swords, too."

Nodding, Squalo stepped further into the office. Glaring at Dino, he said, "You'd better keep your fucking eye on Bel, because if something happens to him, I'll kill you."

"I know, Squalo." Dino reached out towards the younger two, a silent request for Bel to come to his side. The boy did after a bit of hesitation, flinching as his fellow blond grabbed his shoulder. "Are you going to say hello, Bel?"

Pressing closer to Dino, Bel could feel anxiety begin to overwhelm him as he looked at the three strangers. The smallest of the trio was a timid looking brunet, with a silver-haired male by his side who didn't look very happy to see Bel. The last of the group was the tall, dark-haired teen who Bel had already learnt was named Takeshi.

"Bel." Pointing out the three, Dino gently introduced the blond to them. "This is Tsuna, Hayato and Takeshi. Can you say hello?"

Shaking his head, Bel moved to hide behind the teacher. He held the older blond's jacket in a vice-grip, listening as the others spoke amongst themselves. He tried his hardest to block it all out, but it was just too loud to ignore; no matter what he did, he could only hear the strangers talking about him.

"Bel is very shy around strangers," Dino explained, not minding that said boy was pressed tightly between him and the back of the chair he was sitting on; whatever made Bel feel safer. "He just needs time to adjust and to feel comfortable around you guys; he is only used to a handful of people."

Bel didn't hear what was said next; his attention was grabbed by Squalo coming back to him, the man leaning down to hug him tightly. He blushed when he received a gentle peck on the cheek, tilting his head to return it; it was his favourite way of greeting and farewelling his guardian.

"I'm going back to my office, brat." Patting Bel's head, Squalo hated to see the look of heartbreak on his charge's face; if only he could let Bel stay with him forever. "The Bucking Horse will take good care of you. Stay in class unless you really need me. Okay? I'll see you at break."

Bel nodded, trying to fight back tears; why did Squalo have to leave him alone _now _of all times…? "…"

"Bel."

Looking up when Dino spoke his name, Bel whimpered when he felt the man starting to stand. Scrabbling to grab what he could of his guardian, he shook his head in a silent plea for the older male to stay with him. "…"

"It's okay; we're just going to get to our classroom early, Bel." Putting his hand on Bel's forearm, the adult smiled down at his charge. "The bell should go any minute now, and that way you won't feel so crowded."

Bel's tears came harder as he hugged Dino's arm tight, sticking like glue to the teacher. He kept his head bowed as they walked, glad when the other three students left them alone, but hating the looks he received as they walked through the corridors; he knew they were silently judging him for being so close to a teacher, and he didn't want to know exactly what they were thinking.

"Just in here, Bel."

Glad to hear the sound of a key in the lock, Bel entered the classroom hastily. Standing by the teacher's desk, he wiped at his damp face with his sleeve. "…"

"Take a seat, Bel." Pulling out the chair, Dino allowed the younger to sit at his desk. Leaning down, he pulled a soft handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away the tears. "I know you're scared. It's a new school year and a lot has changed, hasn't it? It's okay to be scared; Squalo and I are a little apprehensive ourselves."

Sniffing, Bel looked up to the stronger blond. "Really…?"

"Of course; this is our first day on the jobs, and we have to make very good impressions." Continuing to wipe away tears as they fell, Dino was patient; it wasn't the boy's fault he was upset. "When class begins and everyone gets here, we're going to do some group activities. Now, now, Bel; don't panic; it's okay. One of the other students in your class – Ryohei - he's a really good kid. I know you want to be alone, but can I partner you with Ryohei? I don't want any of the other students thinking bad of you for being by yourself."

Reaching up to pull at his hair, Bel shook his head. "No…!"

"Shh… It won't be so soon; you will still have plenty of time to get to know him. Maybe talk to Squalo about it, okay?"

Hiding his face against the teacher's chest, Bel sobbed; how he hated school so much…

Upon hearing the shrill ring of the bell, Dino sighed. "The other students are going to be here any minute now. Let's go get your books from your bag."

Bel nodded, following the other out of the classroom. He was glad that their lockers were just across the hall because he was able to get his belongings and go back into the classroom before it got too crowded.

"Sit here, okay?" Pointing to the desk closest to his, Dino was glad when Bel obeyed. "You don't have to join in with anything you don't want to – not until you're ready."

Bel nodded, relieved that he finally had a teacher who understood his needs; every other teacher he had had previously had always forced him far out of his comfort zones to the point he would have meltdowns in class and need to go home – finally, a tiny bit of comfort in knowing that he could trust Dino to help him with whatever he needed.

It took several minutes for the class to fill, and when it did, Bel found himself growing tense. He felt he was frozen in his seat, especially once his teacher said to go around the room and everyone could introduce themselves – but what the older blond said next calmed him once more; thank god Dino knew him so well and wasn't going to put him on the spot.

"We'll start with Belphegor." Pointing at said blond, Dino offered a smile to him. "He has a very sore throat, so he won't be doing much talking until it clears up. He is my best friend's adoptive kid, and he came from Italy with us eight years ago. He likes to play video games and spend time with his adoptive parent. He's a little shy, so please don't suddenly approach him. The person next to Bel; what's your name?"

"Haruno Takashi. I like art."

Bel listened as everyone introduced themselves. He wasn't interested in them at all, but there wasn't much else for him to do except read his textbook full of topics he already knew all about.

"Now that everyone has introduced themselves…" Reaching down into the laptop bag he had brought with him, Dino resurfaced with a stack of papers. "Please fill out these sheets independently to tell me a little more about yourselves. I won't share this information with anyone, so please write down whatever you feel comfortable sharing. Do you want to do this, too, Bel?"

Shaking his head, Bel turned to look out of the window. He was tired, and he was very quickly getting bored. Letting out a sigh, he dropped his hand down into his lap, brushing his fingers against his crotch; when he didn't feel right, he sometimes masturbated to calm down. Squalo had always told him that he could only do it in private, but no one was paying attention to him; surely that counted as private, right?

Unzipping his pants, Bel slid down into his seat so that he was more comfortable. He was just about to free himself from his boxers when a hand grabbed his shoulder, startling him out of his intentions; if that was Dino, the blond should know not to touch him without warning...

Yelping as pain spread through his body, he curled into a ball, unable to stop the barrage of tears from falling down his face; he was already on edge, and though he could handle touches from Squalo and Dino as long as he knew they were coming, he still wasn't able to tolerate it from anyone else just yet; unlike the two he thought of as his family, touch from others was still as painful as it had been since day one.

"Bel, I'm sorry." Dino was kneeling down next to the boy, his voice soft so that only Bel could hear what he was saying. He was patient until his student had calmed down enough to look at him, knowing not to say anything until Bel was ready to hear it; unnecessary talking would only deafen the smaller blond and stress him out further. "Bel, come out into the hallway with me."

Bel sucked in a sharp breath as he got to his feet, taking shaky steps behind the older male. He flinched as the classroom door was closed behind him once he and Dino stepped outside of it, trembling as he anxiously thought about what might happen; all of his other teachers had yelled at him for things he didn't understand, and most of the time they took him into the hallway first – was Dino going to yell, too…?

"Bel, I _know _Squalo had told you about… _private _activities." Knowing to _never _be too hard on the boy for things like this, Dino tried to be as gentle as possible. "Masturbation is a private activity, too; you know this. Please don't ever do it in class, or where other people can see you. Squalo has already told you to do it in your bedroom with the door locked and the curtains closed; has he told you that you can do it anywhere else?"

Nodding, Bel scuffed his shoes against the linoleum. "…"

"Where else are you allowed to masturbate, Bel?"

"…" Shrugging, the boy took a few steps back.

"Bel."

"…On the toilet and in the shower…"

"Does he let you do it in public toilets?"

Nodding, Bel looked to the side to avoid eye contact. "…"

"Then go to one of the toilet cubicles and make sure you close the door and lock it, okay? It's alright; I'll let you do it." Dino was surprised when the younger shook his head; if Bel wanted to do it, he should have left already knowing that he had permission. "You don't want to do it anymore?"

"…"

Dino nodded, knowing that Bel wasn't interested in it now; he must have been put off by his fright earlier. "Alright. Wipe your face and then go sit back down at your desk. But next time, please use the toilet cubicle; you can't do it in class."

Walking back to his desk, Bel sighed; he just wanted to go home already.

_**~~XX~~**_

When the first break arrived, Bel had quickly bolted from his classroom and to Squalo's office. He was agitated from being caught in the waves of people leaving their classrooms, so when he finally made it to his guardian's office, he was relieved – that was, until he noticed that there was another student sitting in _his _seat at the desk.

"Hey, brat." Gesturing for his kid to approach, Squalo waited until Bel was seated safely on his lap before he spoke again. "I was just talking to Takeshi; he was telling me about his sword training. The Bucking Horse has apparently told him all about us."

Unnerved by these words, Bel hid his face in against Squalo's chest; if Dino was telling people about him, would they know just how badly people affected him…? Would they use that to their advantage and _hurt _him like his parents had…?

"Here, brat." Reaching into his drawer, he grabbed Bel's game. Handing it back to its owner, he then threaded gloved fingers through golden locks. "Go play with Takeshi for lunch."

Shaking his head, Bel curled up tighter; he wasn't going _anywhere _without Squalo. "…"

"He's a good kid, Bel." Putting his hands on Bel's shoulders and pushing him back so that he could see the younger, Squalo knew he had to be tender on this subject; if he said the wrong thing, Bel would think he didn't want the boy anymore and was trying to get rid of him. "He'll look after you. I just have lots to do on my first day, so I don't want you to be bored – besides, the Bucking Horse and I were going to go investigate a bit more together because he was feeling a little daunted by everything. You wouldn't have much fun following us everywhere, would you?"

Shaking his head, Bel moved closer once again, tucking his head beneath Squalo's chin. "…"

With a sigh, the man put his hand on the small of Bel's back, holding him close. "Fine. You can stay with me. But Takeshi and his friends will be around lots, so you will get to know them like how you got to know Lussu, Mammon and Xanxus. Okay?"

Bel nodded, glad that he was being warned; there was nothing more he hated than being forced around other people, especially ones he didn't know well or felt uncomfortable with. "…"

"What are you playing, Bel?" Takeshi leant across the desk as he noticed the smaller male switching the Gameboy on.

Bel flinched, licking his lips. His head remained ducked for a few seconds before he slowly lifted it, his lips moving wordlessly as he tried to gather up the courage to speak. "…"

"You can do it, Bel." Reaching out to take the boy's hand in his own, Squalo held it firmly in an encouraging manner. "What game is it?"

"…" Dropping his head against his guardian's shoulder, Bel whispered a response. "…Pokemon…"

"What one is it?" Trying to see the colour of the cartridge, Takeshi waited politely for a response; Dino had told him already about how quiet Bel could be.

"…" Looking up at Squalo for reassurance, Bel took a deep breath as the other nodded at him. "…Red…"

"You really have an original Pokemon game?" In awe of this, Takeshi's eyes widened slightly. "That's awesome! I haven't seen one of those in years! How many Pokemon have you caught?"

Curling in on himself, Bel whimpered as he dropped his game onto his lap. Holding his hands over his ears, he started to rock; that stranger had too much attention on him, and it was very overwhelming. "…"

Squalo tightened his hold on the boy, threading his fingers once again through his charge's hair. "I think he had to start the game again; he put a new battery in it last night."

"That sucks." A sympathetic look crossed Takeshi's face.

Squalo nodded, letting Bel calm down by himself. "I'm surprised Bel said anything to you; usually he'll only talk to strangers if he wants something from them."

Laughing, Takeshi's bright smile crossed his face once more. "Maybe that means he likes me!"

Shrugging, the man replied quietly. "Could be; he's never spoken to a stranger on the first day of meeting them in situations like this."

"He just needs to get to know me and my friends and then I'm sure he'll love us." Standing up from his seat, Takeshi grinned. "Speaking of friends, Gokudera was going to help me and Tsuna with our homework. I'll see you later, Squalo."

"Yeah. Later, brat." With the student stepping out of the office, Squalo sighed. Looking down at Bel, he couldn't help but let affection fill his heart as he noticed that the boy had rocked himself into sleep – with as many restless nights as he had, it was no surprise he had fallen asleep. "What am I going to do with you, brat? You're lucky I love you."

Moving closer to his desk, Squalo allowed Bel to sleep on his lap as he went over more paperwork, knowing that Dino could fend for himself in getting to know his new work environment alone – after all, the clumsy fool was a perfectly capable adult, and Bel needed love and care.

Squalo wasn't going to put Dino over Bel in a situation like this, no matter how close he was to the older adult; Bel simply meant the world to him, and he didn't want to know where he would have been in life had his best friend not taken the boy in.


	9. Chapter 9

Relieved when the weekend had rolled by and he could take a break from work, Squalo found himself seated across the couch in the living room of his home, a coffee in hand as he watched Bel sit quietly on the floor with one of Squalo's friends, a woman named Mammon whom had known the man since Italy. Mammon had always had a peculiar love of money, so when she found herself in Japan alongside Dino and Squalo, it was no surprise she had gone into the accounting business.

Squalo watched as Bel spread out his bank statements and cash from his piggybank along the floor, arranging the coins and notes in special patterns as he did every time he played with it. Mammon was scrutinising the statements while he did this, helping the boy manage his savings; while he never spent much, his only income came from doing little chores around the house for Squalo, so it was good to teach him about money while he was still young.

"For the past three months, you have spent one-hundred-and-seventy-three dollars, Bel." Looking down at the boy, Mammon explained his areas of spending and how he could have saved money. Bel listened eagerly, hanging on to every word; he really liked Mammon, having felt comfortable around her easily for most of his time knowing her.

After learning a bit more about his spending habits, Bel looked down at his stack of coins. He cocked his head to the side before asking, "Can I have my big notes now, Mammy?"

Mammon nodded, swiping up everything the boy had to offer before giving him cash notes; she never minded exchanging notes for coins because it meant more for the vault to hold. "Make sure Squalo puts that in your bank account so you don't lose it."

Bel nodded, taking his new notes over to his guardian. Squalo accepted it right away, slipping them into his pocket.

"I'll put it in the bank for you soon." Sipping at his coffee, Squalo next looked down at the coffee table as his phone beeped with a text, the ID reading _Cavallone_. Picking his phone up, he wasn't sure he wanted to read it; he was feeling rather down today, and the last thing he wanted was to have to deal with whatever the other wanted. "What does this fucker want?"

_-Does Bel know how to fix PlayStation consoles?- _

Confused by the message, Squalo raised an eyebrow. Calling to Bel, he waited until he had grabbed the younger's attention before asking Dino's question out loud. "You can fix PlayStation consoles, can't you, brat?"

"What's wrong with it?" Looking over his shoulder at the man, Bel put down Mammon's phone, having been playing a game on it now that his lesson on finances was over; he liked Mammon's phone, because unlike Squalo's, this one had a fun game on it that really grabbed his attention.

"Hold on." Quickly sending a text back, Squalo didn't have to wait long for a response. "Something's wrong with the fan and the disc drive."

"I can fix those easy." Wondering why this question had been brought up between them, Bel hesitated to speak again; did he want to know…? "…Why…?"

"Takeshi's friend – the little brunet, I think. The Bucking Horse said the brunet broke it or something. Can you fix it?"

Tensing, Bel sucked in a shaky breath. "…I can fix it, but I don't want them to come here…"

Squalo understood; it was extremely hard for him to be able to cope with visitors, Dino and Mammon the only ones he was okay with – anyone else, and Bel would most likely have a meltdown. He could handle two people including Squalo in his home, having learnt to adjust to it from when he was younger and living with both Dino and Squalo, but any more than two people at a time in his home, and he freaked out. "Well, they have to come here if you will fix their game for them."

Shaking his head, Bel dropped Mammon's phone to the ground as he got to his feet. Pulling at his hair, he trembled; please don't let them come…

Trying to compromise with the boy, Squalo took a few seconds to reply; he had to be careful about this situation, because otherwise Bel would only become more upset than he already was. "What if the Bucking Horse and I go outside, so it'll just be you and the other kids?"

Running to Squalo to hug the other's arm tight, Bel let out a terrified cry; the thought of Squalo leaving him alone was unbearable. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he sobbed, refusing to let go of his guardian's arm; if he did that, then the man might leave. "Don't go! Don't go!"

"Bel, I'm not going anywhere." Patting golden locks in an affectionate manner, Squalo tried hard to comfort the boy. "I'll just be on the porch with that fucking idiot is all. You and the kids will have the house to yourselves; I'll only be outside if you need me."

When Bel begun to throw a tantrum, Squalo couldn't help but grow frustrated; he wasn't in the mood for this _at all. _Looking over to Mammon for help, he wasn't surprised to see the woman getting to her feet and walking towards the front door; she seemed to have a habit of disappearing whenever Bel got difficult. "Where do you think _you're _going?"

"To Fon's." Her hand on the door handle, Mammon didn't look back. "You know I don't do well with Bel and his tantrums."

Squalo grimaced, glaring after the woman as she left; a bit of fucking help would be appreciated…! "Ah, fuck!" Looking down as he felt teeth biting through the skin on his arm, the man instinctively shoved Bel away from him; as gentle as he was towards his charge, even the blond could be on the receiving end of his anger at times – Bel should know better than to bite Squalo when the older male wasn't paying any attention to him. "Bel, you little shit! Don't bite!"

Stomping his foot on the ground, Bel yelled in a strangled manner as he felt anger boiling up inside of him; no matter how happy he was with his life now, he wasn't sure he would ever truly leave behind the anger buried deep inside of him because of the things his family had done to him. "I hate you! I don't _want _them here! I _hate_ you, Squ!"

Squalo knew that Bel didn't mean those words; Bel _wasn't _capable of hating _him, _and was just misdirecting his miserable feelings towards the only person he knew - but that didn't mean those words didn't hurt any less. "…"

Kicking at the coffee table, Bel didn't care as objects fell off it and onto the floor instead; when he got angry like this, he couldn't always control himself. Sometimes Squalo wasn't sure if Bel was throwing a tantrum or having a meltdown, but if something in between were possible, than the man believed that was what his charge was doing; Bel wanted his own way, but at the same time, he couldn't control himself like he usually could.

Standing up, Squalo didn't say a word as he went to his bedroom and locked the door behind him. He could hear Bel banging against it as he yelled, but he never responded to any of it; he just wasn't in the mood. Bel would learn to adjust to new people in his home sooner or later, because the man wasn't going to let the boy get his way when he was acting like this – not at _all. _

_**~~XX~~**_

Hours later, when Bel had given up on his temper tantrum, Squalo had come back out into the living room. Looking at the mess on the floor, he couldn't help but sigh; as much as he loved the kid… _fuck, _could Bel frustrate him to no end. "Bel, pick that shit up and put it back on the coffee table – and don't kick my fucking things while you're at it."

Spinning around on the desk chair he was seated on, Bel made an agitated sound. He didn't do as told, instead turning back to the game he was playing on the computer. "…"

"Fucking hell…" Picking up what Bel had knocked off, Squalo sat the TV remote and other small objects back onto the coffee table. Curling up on the couch with his phone, he made no move to turn the TV on; he wasn't in the mood for anything right now. "Those kids are still coming here, brat."

Grunting in annoyance, Bel grabbed earphones from on top of the computer tower. Plugging them in, he slipped them into his ears before turning music on, not wanting to listen to Squalo; he just wanted to play his game in peace. "…"

"Fucking brat…" Glancing at the time on his wristwatch, Squalo was glad to see that Bel would soon be changing activities and going into his bedroom for a nap; the blond could certainly use one with the way he had carried on earlier.

_Ding dong. _

Looking over the back of the couch to the entrance hallway, Squalo raised an eyebrow at the doorbell; Dino wasn't supposed to be here for another hour. Getting to his feet to answer the door, he wasted no time in speaking as he pulled it open. "What, you miss me that much already, you fucking idiot – fuck, I thought you were someone else."

"No, that's quite alright. Squalo Superbia?"

Narrowing his eyes at the stranger standing on his doorstep, Squalo wasn't sure he could trust the man; there was something… _off _about the other, and he didn't want to take any chances. "Can I help you?"

The man was blond, with long hair that fell to the middle of his shoulders. His eyes were a light violet colour, and that was what set warning bells off inside Squalo's head; those eyes looked remarkably like Bel's own... "I was speaking to Romario a few days ago, and he directed me to you."

"…" Wishing the other would get to the point, Squalo grew tense; if this was who he thought it was…

"You see, I am Belphegor's biological father. His mother and I would very much like to have him back."

Searching the other for the tiniest sign of malice, Squalo could find none; whatever this man had planned, he hid his intentions well. "You did nothing but abuse him, and traded him for money. What the fuck kind of parent _does _that to their kid?"

Shaking his head, the man stepped forward. "Rosaline and I were in a bad way; we were unfit to be parents to Belphegor, so we did the best thing for him and gave him to someone who _could _take care of his… _needs_."

Squalo didn't miss the way the last word had been said with disgust, as if Bel's condition was absolutely appalling. The man knew for a fact that Bel was extremely difficult to care for; it took a lot of patience and understanding, and yes, Squalo _did _lose his temper at times, but he had _never _treated the boy like vermin for something he couldn't help. "His '_needs' _are simple; he just needs patience, and someone to love him – you gave him none of that."

"As I said, we were in a bad place, but we are better now." Bringing a smile up onto his face, the man cocked his head to his side. "If not for my wife and I, but for our other child. Rasiel misses his little brother."

Having heard about Bel's brother a handful of times, Squalo felt nothing but hatred towards the other; Rasiel was Bel's older twin, and from what the boy had said, he had done nothing but mistreat and hurt Bel. "…"

"I am trying my best to work with you on this subject. That is _my _child inside your home you are keeping from me. If you'd rather, I could just take this matter to the courts and tell them I want _my _child back. If you don't want him anymore, then I –"

"- Fucking fine!" Unable to keep himself from snapping at the stranger, Squalo could feel his chest and stomach begin to churn uncomfortably; it would be only too easy for the man to do as threatened and take Bel away from him – if they decided they didn't like the way Squalo was keeping Bel from them, then… "But not right now; he's in a bad fucking mood and I have my friend coming over soon. Come back tomorrow or something."

"Oh, I will." With that said, the other turned around and left.

Squalo sneered as he slammed the door shut. He muttered angrily to himself in Italian as he spun on the spot, intending on going back to the couch, but before he could take a step forward, he froze; Bel was standing in the hallway, an air of depression about him. "Brat…"

"Squ-Squ…?" Fumbling with his hands, Bel chewed at his cheek for a few seconds. "…Was that…?"

Squalo nodded, closing the distance between them. Putting his hand on Bel's shoulder, he squeezed firmly before saying, "It's alright, Bel; I won't let him take you back."

Feeling many different emotions swell inside of him, Bel didn't know what he was supposed to be feeling; was he angry at them coming back after so many years? Or sad that it had taken them this long to want to find him? Or was he supposed to be _happy_ that his parents _finally _wanted him?

Too many questions, and not enough answers.

"Is it because I was bad earlier…?" Wrapping his arms around Squalo's middle, Bel looked up into the man's face, a very worried expression on it. "I'm sorry I was bad, Squ… I'll be good; I promise! So please… Please don't give me back to them…"

Patting blond locks gently, Squalo shook his head. "It has _nothing _to do with the way you behaved before, Bel. I _promise_. It's just coincidence. I'm not giving you back; don't ever think that I would – I love you too much, no matter what."

"I love you, too, Squ-Squ… I'm sorry I'm bad a lot…"

"It's alright, brat. Just do your best to behave for me when those kids get here soon."

"Okay." Breaking away from his guardian, Bel took a few steps back. "Will you watch me play my new game?"

"What is it?" Walking with Bel back to the computer, Squalo glanced down at all the installation discs spread out along the desk; so this was the game the boy had been telling him had just come out.

"World of Warcraft." Waiting until Squalo was seated next to him, Bel turned the monitor to show the man better. "Look; I'm a Rogue."

Squalo smiled, glad that Bel bounced back from things so easily. Listening as his charge gave him the run down on his game, he did his best to listen; who knew what the boy's parents had planned, after all.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Bel emerged from his room a bit over an hour later after his nap, he couldn't help but feel daunted by the fact that there were just too many bodies in the living room. Immediately making his way over to Squalo, he curled up on the couch next to his guardian, surveying the younger teenagers with wary eyes. He wanted to cry and scream and shout about how he wanted the others to leave, but he was afraid that if he did so, then Squalo would send him back to his parents.

"The game thing is just there, Bel." Gesturing to the PlayStation on the coffee table, Squalo watched as Bel sat up straight to pick it up. He didn't say anything, knowing that the boy would be scrutinising every inch of it and coming up with a plan of attack within seconds; Bel always had been able to fix most everything he could get his hands on without any effort at all.

Putting the PlayStation back down, Bel jumped off the couch in order to get some tools from his bedroom. Returning within minutes, he flipped the console over and begun unscrewing it.

"Can you really fix it?"

Jumping at the unexpected voice from beside him, Bel tensed as he looked up and found the little brunet standing next to him. Looking back at Squalo for reassurance, he didn't speak until he had received a smile and nod from his guardian. "…Yes…"

"How so?" While his two friends remained on the other couch with Dino, Tsuna sat next to the blond teen. He watched the boy's hands move with ease, surprised that someone so young seemed to know so much about fixing consoles; shouldn't he be more focused on his studies rather than learning about electronics?

"…I just… pull it apart…" His head ducked so that his chin rested against his chest, Bel started to tremble; he wanted to curl up and hide, but he had to be good – if he wasn't good, he might be given away like his parents had done to him. "Then I…"

Dropping his screwdriver to the coffee table, Bel let out a frightened whimper as he leant back into the couch, pulling his knees to his chest as he ripped at his hair. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he curled into a ball, this new environment quickly becoming overwhelming.

Squalo didn't say anything; he stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen, retrieving four chocolate milk cartons from the fridge. Going back to the living room, he tossed his guests one each before pulling the straw out of the last one and sliding it through the seal.

"Bel, have a drink." Sitting back down next to his kid, Squalo wrapped one arm around the younger and held him close. Pressing the straw against soft lips, he waited until Bel parted them and allowed it in. "Chocolate milk; your favourite, Bel. See? It's alright; you're still safe, even with a few more people in the house."

Bel slowly calmed down at Squalo's voice, able to focus on his drink. He closed his eyes as he felt his guardian rub small circles into his back, glad that Squalo was always so supportive of him; he didn't want to think about how life would have been for him had he never ran away from his father all those years ago.

"You're safe, Bel." Glad that the boy was soon able to pick up the PlayStation once more, Squalo let out a breath of relief; he couldn't imagine how Bel must feel to be terrified of talking to people in his own home.

Bel worked in silence once he had calmed down enough to continue on with his task. He had soon pulled the console apart, different parts laying scattered out along the coffee table. He didn't bother to look too much into what was causing whatever problem had brought Tsuna to him; he simply went back to his room and returned with spare parts he had kept on hand for his own console. He replaced the faulty components with fresh ones before ever-so-carefully putting it back together, soon taking it over to the TV across from them and hooking it up to make sure that it was running normally again.

Tsuna, who had worked out that Bel had been frightened of having to hold a conversation with him, smiled as he remained where he sat. "Thanks, Bel; it's running great again. Thanks heaps."

Bel nodded, turning the console off before unplugging it. He carried it back to the coffee table, putting it down carefully before going back to Squalo's side. "…"

"Hey, I take it you brats like videogames, too, then." His dark eyes darting between the youngest teenagers, Squalo was glad he received nods from two of the three; if he could get Bel to spend time with them, then maybe the boy would come out of his shell a bit more. "Bel, go show them your games."

Bel whimpered, hugging Squalo's arm tight. "…"

"Go on. Show them your new game." Standing up when Bel refused to move, Squalo tugged the boy to his feet before leading him over to the computer. However, even with the man by his side, Bel still cried when the younger three approached, hiding himself behind Squalo. With a sigh, he held his charge close to him while he spoke to his guests. "I'm trying to get him to socialise, but it's not easy for him."

"It's okay; Dino-san has already told us." Offering a shy smile, Tsuna turned to look at his friends. "We'll leave him in peace so he can relax; he might just need to get used to us first before he'll talk to us."

Squalo nodded, glad that the kids understood; he would be pretty pissed if they didn't and instead judged Bel for what he couldn't help. "He needs his afternoon snacks now anyway."

Leaving Bel by the computer, Squalo walked his guests out. Just before Dino could exit the house, he grabbed the older male's arm and tugged him back. "I need to talk to you tonight. It's important."

Dino nodded, knowing that his friend needed him. "Just text me or something, Squalo. I'll be available."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Squalo let the others leave. He wasn't sure what Dino would have to say about Bel's father showing up, but he needed someone to talk to; he wasn't sure he could handle something like this on his own.


	10. Chapter 10

When school finished the next day, Squalo had taken Bel out for ice cream before bringing him home; as much as he didn't want it to happen, he was expecting the boy's family to visit, having spoken to them earlier and organised a time.

Now, as he sat Bel on the couch and tried to explain to him just why he wasn't allowed to take his nap today, Squalo sincerely hoped everything would go okay; he could see for himself that Bel didn't care for his family, and probably didn't want them back in his life – he could understand; having escaped from his own fucked up family, never once had he missed _any _of them for a _second. _

"I know you're tired, Bel, but I told you this morning; you have to stay up because your family is coming to see you."

"I don't want to see them…!" Trying to pull away from Squalo's touch, Bel let a few tears escape down his cheeks. "I hate them!"

"I know you do, Bel…" Threading his gloved fingers through golden locks, Squalo sighed. "I know you do…"

"I wish they were dead…" Reaching up to rub at his eyes, Bel shook his head. "I hate them…"

"I know, Bel. But they're your family." Knowing he couldn't tell Bel that there was a chance they would take the boy from him, Squalo instead lied in an attempt to comfort his charge; oh, how he hoped to _fuck_ he never got Bel's hopes up to only disappoint him in the end… "Maybe they've changed, and are ready to love you now."

"They love Jill; not me. They hate me, and I hate them." Leaning into Squalo's touch when the man caressed his face, Bel reached up to hold a gloved digit.

"…" Looking out of the window as he heard a car pull up against the kerb, Squalo sighed; so they were here already… "Behave, okay? I'll take care of you."

Standing up with Squalo, Bel held the man's hand as he followed his guardian to the front door. He flinched as the door was opened, ducking his head when he saw familiar figures coming towards him. Looking up at Squalo as the older male squeezed his hand, he held a blank look on his face as he tried to analyse the situation; he had no idea what to make of any of this, and the uncertainty was terrifying.

"There's my little boy!"

Whimpering in pain as arms wrapped around him and pulled him against a busty chest, Bel froze in a very tense position; these were arms that had only ever hurt him in the past, so why were they trying to copy Squalo…?

"How have you been, Bel?"

Unable to move until the arms were removed from around him, Bel slowly lifted his head to look up at his father. The man stared back down at him with a smile, but Bel didn't trust the other; Bel would _never _trust him after everything he had gone through by the man's hand. "…"

"You've grown heaps, sweetheart."

Bel couldn't say those words didn't affect him; he had wanted to hear such gentle words from his mother his entire life; to finally hear them…

"Mummy…" Unable to stop tears from rolling down his cheeks, Bel sobbed loudly; he didn't trust his mother to be genuine, but still…

All he had ever wanted was for her to look at him the way she always looked at his twin.

Squalo wasn't surprised when thin arms wrapped around him; this must be incredibly daunting for his charge. With a frown, he reached down, picking the boy up and holding him close. "It's okay, Bel. It's okay."

Leading his visitors into his home, Squalo grudgingly allowed them into his living room. He gestured for them to take the couch opposite, sitting down with Bel on his lap. Now that he was paying attention to them, he couldn't help but notice that Bel looked a lot like both of parents; both his mother and father had golden hair, his father's reaching to the middle of his shoulder blades while his mother's was long and curly and reached down just above her hips. His father's eyes were a very light violet like Bel's, and his mother's appeared to be a vibrant green.

It was very clear were Bel got his good looks from, and it made Squalo eager to see what the boy would look like in ten years; he was sure the boy would be absolutely stunning.

And then, finally noticing the teenager who had followed behind the others in silence, Squalo was sure he was seeing double; the teenager looked just like Bel; just with slightly longer hair that tickled the sides of his neck.

"I never got either of your names." Narrowing his eyes at his visitors, Squalo held Bel close.

"Willheim and Rosaline." Gesturing down to Bel's double in between them, the man – Willheim, he had introduced himself as – smiled proudly as he said, "And this is Rasiel."

Squalo nodded, taking note of their appearances; from what Dino had told him all those years ago, they seemed to have really cleaned up from the uncivilised, drug-addicted looks like they had donned all those years ago. "You already know my name."

"Yes. I must say you really seem to have taken great care of Belphegor in our steads. This is a very nice house; you look to be doing very well for yourself. Do you have a partner?"

Offended greatly by having assumptions made about his life, Squalo rudely spat, "No; I'm single, and it's not like I'd bludge off government benefits or someone else's money while I have a fucking kid to support…"

"That's very commendable of you, Squalo." Nodding at the younger male, Willheim offered a smile. "You really have your head on right."

"Unlike some…" Glaring out of the window, Squalo held Bel close to him; he would never forgive the boy's parents for turning him into the timid, angry boy he was.

"We deserve that one…" Rosaline ducked her head, knowing that comment was directed towards her and her husband. "We were terrible parents to Bel..."

"You can't even call yourselves his parents!" Hearing Bel whimper at his shout, Squalo quietened down; Bel didn't deserve to be upset more than he already was. "When my friend and I found him, he was covered in wounds and terrified as fuck! He wouldn't even come out from under my friend's bed! He just stayed under there for weeks until he started coming out! All he did was cry because of how scared he was! How can you… do that to him and still call yourselves his parents?!"

"May we talk to you about this in private, Squalo?" Willheim stood up, pointing to the kitchen. "Belphegor doesn't need to be caught in this; it must be confusing enough for him."

Squalo glared for a few seconds more before he lent down, kissing his charge's temple. Standing up, he walked in silence to the kitchen, the older two behind him.

Bel whimpered, looking over the back of the couch; he hated that he was now left alone with his brother. "…"

On the other side of the room, Bel's mirror image sneered. "Long time, no see, brother. Been enjoying getting your ass pounded into by your guardian like the little whore you are?"

Looking at his lap, Bel grabbed his pants and held them. "…"

"Do you like it, Belphegor?" Rasiel stood up, slinking over to his brother. "Does he take you roughly? Do you like having his dick tear you in half?"

Refusing to lift his head, Bel whispered, "Squalo likes girls… He doesn't… do bad things to me…"

Reaching out, Rasiel brushed his twin's bangs from his eyes, smirking widely as he noticed that the boy was looking anywhere but at him. "Trust me, Bel. He wants to. Who wouldn't want to fuck your loose little ass? I know I'd love to bury myself deep inside you."

Flinching as a hand grabbed the front of his pants, Bel let out a scream. He shoved at his brother, curling into a ball as waves of pain shot through his body; never before had anyone touched him down there, so it caught him off-guard to feel how painful someone else's hand was compared to his own; his own hand had only ever brought him pleasure, so why did…?

Squalo came running back to his charge at this, pulling Bel into his arms. Glaring suspiciously at Rasiel, he rocked the youngest in an attempt to soothe him. "It's okay, Bel. It's okay."

Rasiel put his finger to his lips, silencing his twin; he knew that Bel had always been frightened of him, so he doubted Bel would dob; doing the same thing he did to the younger in their childhood to let him know that he wasn't allowed to tell, he smirked as Bel whimpered and turned his head away.

"What happened, Bel?" Threading his fingers through the boy's hair, Squalo waited for a reply.

Shaking his head, the boy hid his face against his guardian's chest. "…"

Sighing, Squalo shook his head. He made himself more comfortable on the couch, wishing he could kick out the others, but what was the right thing to do here? Despite knowing what they were like, they were still Bel's parents and they had every right to be here with him – Squalo had no right to keep their child from them when they seemed to be trying to make up for how they had been.

All he could do was hope that they were being sincere in this moment, so why did it feel as if they were trying to deceive him?


	11. Chapter 11

When lunchtime rolled around the next day, Squalo wasn't surprised to find Bel in his office before classes had ended; the boy had a bad habit of leaving the classroom before the bell rang. Squalo couldn't blame him, though; the blond was simply stressed without his guardian around.

"What are you doing, brat?" Putting his pen down on the desk he was sitting at, Squalo sighed.

Taking his seat across from the man, Bel shrugged. He laid his arms against the hardwood, resting his cheek on top of his wrist as he looked out of the window. "…"

"Did the Bucking Horse let you leave?" Glancing down at his watch, Squalo found that there was still half an hour left before break; surely the teacher hadn't let Bel leave so early…?

Shaking his head, Bel made a soft sound. "…"

"Is something upsetting you?" Knowing that the answer was probably yes, the man closed his eyes; oh, how Bel exhausted him at times.

Nodding, Bel licked his lips. "…"

Too tired to deal with this right now, Squalo went back to the papers he was signing; Bel seemed to be okay, so if he could just sit quietly like this, then he should be alright. "Okay. Sit down for a while, brat."

Bel did as he was told. He was silent for several minutes before he lifted his head and said, "Squ…? You said it's okay that I like both girls and boys…"

"It is. I don't give a fuck who you like." Not lifting his gaze from the contract he was reading over, Squalo listened carefully for a reply; was this what was bothering his kid?

"…" Dropping his head once more, Bel sighed. "How come people are being mean to me, then?"

"Who's being mean?"

"Some of the people in my class…" Tensing as he spoke about what was upsetting him, Bel hesitated before speaking again; he hated talking about things that bothered him because he found it very hard to do so. "…They… They called me a faggot… And they said I was disgusting because I like other boys, too… They said I'm only allowed… to like girls… And that they would hurt me if they ever saw me with another boy… I didn't want to tell Dino, so I said I was getting a drink, and then I came here…"

Gripping his pen tightly, Squalo became angry at these words; how _dare _someone threaten _his _kid for something like this?! "Did you say anything back to them, brat?"

Nodding, Bel spoke again. "I told them that you said it was okay, and… And then they started saying bad things about you, too… I told them to stop, but they wouldn't, and I was getting really mad, so I left."

"I don't care what they said about me, Bel; I don't want them talking to _you _like that." Shaking his head, Squalo wished he wasn't so tired; he needed to help Bel, but it was hard to do so when he hadn't gotten any sleep the night previous. "Why didn't you want to tell the Bucking Horse?"

When Bel simply looked at his lap in silence, Squalo understood; the boy was probably embarrassed, and not comfortable with the idea of telling his teacher what was going on.

"Do you want me to talk to him about what happened?" Nodding when he received a tiny, 'Yes…' in response, Squalo then added, "We'll sort it out for you, Bel. In the meantime, you need to stand up for yourself a bit more. You're not assertive enough; you just get angry and then _you _get in trouble, too."

"But they don't stop when I tell them to; not unless I hit them first…" Bel found standing up for himself to be a very confusing concept; he never could seem to do it right because his bullies didn't stop until he started to fight them, and then he was the one being scolded. It didn't make any sense to him, and it only upset him to know that he couldn't understand what Squalo was trying to tell him to do.

Squalo knew he wasn't the best person to tell Bel how to stand up for himself; he himself naturally lashed out physically without even telling his antagonists to stop, but he couldn't teach Bel to do that, too; it would only land the boy in more hot water than he already got himself into at times. "I'll get Dino to try and help you, Bel. In the meantime, just sit there; you don't have to go back to class."

Bel nodded. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled his phone out. Opening the menu, he started up one of the games to distract himself with. He was quiet for a few minutes before saying, "Squ… How do you know when you… Um…"

Raising his eyebrow, Squalo waited for Bel to continue. "…"

"…It's…" Letting out a frustrated sigh, Bel shook his head. "When… When we were talking… to Dino's friends this morning… I… I thought that… Hayato… Hayato is..."

"You think Hayato is cute?" Smiling at the flushed look that had slowly crept upon the boy's face as Bel tried to convey his thoughts, Squalo couldn't help but feel a bit of weight lift off his shoulders; he had been worried his charge would never develop a crush; the boy just didn't show enough interest in people for him to like someone like that.

Bel nodded, looking at his lap. "When… When I was masturbating before classes… I thought of Hayato… I… I've never really… thought of anyone before when I touch myself…"

While Squalo was uncomfortable with this, he allowed the boy to be so open with him; Bel trusted him, and if he wanted to tell Squalo this, then he could. "Yeah? Do you think he's someone you want to talk to?"

Bel nodded. "I… I'm… Squ-Squ… I…"

"I know, Bel. You're just very wary of strangers. But Hayato's not really a stranger anymore, is he? You know who he is; you just haven't spoken to him yet."

"I want to talk to him… But I'm scared…"

"If you ask Dino what Hayato likes, maybe you'll find you have something in common with him. Then you can talk to him about it, and it won't be so hard. You love telling me all about your videogames; maybe you can tell him about them, too."

Bel nodded, hoping Squalo was right; he had never really noticed much about the younger three Dino seemed to like so much, but this morning, as he stood behind Squalo in one of the school hallways and observed the three, he couldn't help but find that his attention was drawn almost exclusively to the silver-haired male. "Do you think he wants to talk to me, too?"

"I don't know; maybe. The other two do." Standing up from his desk, Squalo moved over to the filing cabinets behind him. He opened one of the drawers and resurfaced with a folder, taking it back to the desk with him. "You'll never know unless you talk to them, Bel. How about you go back to class, and when it's lunchtime, go with him to see them? I'm going to be busy for break so I can't go with you."

"Do I have to tell him everything…?" Whispering, Bel trembled slightly; while he truly liked Dino, he wasn't as comfortable with the other blond like he was with Squalo; he could tell Squalo almost anything, but he couldn't talk about a lot of things with his other guardian.

Shaking his head, Squalo grabbed a notepad from his desk. Writing a note on it, he then tore it out and passed it to the boy. "Give this to him, and I'll talk to him after school. Go into the bathroom and calm yourself down before you go back, though."

"Okay." Getting to his feet, Bel gave his guardian a hug before leaving the office and returning to class. He was glad that Squalo understood him so well, so he sincerely hoped that the man would never give him back to his parents – anything but that; Bel wanted to stay with the long-haired man forever.

_**~~XX~~**_

When lunchtime arrived and Bel found himself seated on the roof of the school with Dino and the younger teenagers, he picked shyly at his striped shirt as he tried to decide what to say; both Dino and Squalo had told him to be himself, but it was hard for him to do so around strangers; he was simply scared, and it made it hard for him to socialise.

"Is that good sushi, Bel?"

Lifting his head as he heard Tsuna talk to him, Bel nodded. He hummed in response before he looked back down, not looking at Dino as the man spoke to him next.

"Squalo takes you to Takesushi all the time, doesn't he, Bel?"

"…" Nodding, the boy picked at his rice before lifting some to his lips with his chopsticks.

"Well, Takeshi's dad actually owns that restaurant." Smiling down at his students, Dino was glad that Bel was now paying attention to the other teens; it seemed that he had found something to interest his fellow blond in.

"You like sushi, then?" Takeshi grinned when he received a meek nod in response. "Why don't you come over to my place for dinner and we'll hang out for a while?"

Looking up at Dino for an answer, the boy agreed when his teacher nodded at him. He then looked at Hayato, wishing he knew how to ask for the silver-haired teen to join them – however, it seemed that Takeshi knew exactly what he wanted as he next said, "Tsuna and Gokudera can join us, too, if they want."

Bel felt giddy as he heard Hayato reluctantly agree; did that mean he was going to get to spend more time with the younger? Maybe he would be able to talk to Hayato tonight instead right now; it would give him more time to calm down and decide what he wanted to talk about.

Maybe… he could ask Hayato tonight if the silver-haired teen liked him back.

_**~~XX~~**_

Standing in the middle of Takesushi, Bel hugged Squalo tight as he kissed the man's cheek in farewell. He was very nervous about this, but Squalo had promised to come and get him whenever he wanted to go home.

"You're going to be fine, brat." Squeezing Bel's shoulder as he stood up straight, Squalo couldn't help but feel worried; the boy had never had friends before, much less gone to someone else's home like this; he wasn't sure if Bel would be able to handle it or not. "I'll call you soon and ask how you're doing."

"Okay." Stepping away from the older male, Bel took a deep breath before he approached Takeshi waiting by the doorway into the back of the restaurant. He watched the younger warily as he followed the other into the living quarters, tense as he soon found himself in a bedroom smaller than his own, Tsuna and Hayato already seated on pillows on the ground.

"Hey, Bel." Tsuna smiled up at the older male, pointing to another pillow next to Hayato. "You can sit if you want to."

Bel felt his mouth go dry as he nodded, his groin twitching as he realised how close he could be to Hayato; he was close enough to reach out and touch… Hastily sitting beside the silver-haired teenager, Bel couldn't stop his hands from shaking; he wanted to reach out and see if the younger's skin was as soft as it looked, but…

Oh, what the hell; Squalo wasn't here to tell him no.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Glaring at the blond who had just poked him in the face, Hayato clenched his hands into fists; oh, how he hated being touched so childishly.

Bel licked his lips at this question, shaking his head. "Soft…"

"The fuck?" Getting to his feet, Hayato glared at his host. "I'm going out for a smoke."

Bel frowned as he watched his crush leave, but he didn't say anything; he didn't know what to say; had he upset the other somehow…?

"Here's some sushi for you, Bel."

Looking up as he was passed a bento, Bel forgot his previous distress; he couldn't be sad when there was sushi involved. "…"

"My pop made this for us." Taking a seat with the rest of them, Takeshi smiled. "He said he's served you heaps; you really love his sushi."

"Yeah!" Barely aware of the way his reply slipped so enthusiastically from his lips, Bel started to dig into his meal; he loved Takesushi even more than Squalo's cooking.

Tsuna chuckled at the, sudden happiness he could see in the taller male, glad that something was cheering him up from the anxiety he had been displaying at first; this kid was quite adorable, as Dino had told them he could be at times.

"Did you have a good day at school, Bel?" Trying to get a bit of conversation out of the other while he seemed okay, Tsuna waited patiently for a reply.

Shaking his head, Bel frowned. He took a tentative bite of sushi, chewing it slowly as he tried to gather his thoughts. "…I… The other students… don't like me…"

"_We _like you, Bel." His smile shining brightly, Takeshi couldn't help but reach out, throwing his arm around the smaller male's shoulders from habit. He was oblivious to the way Bel whimpered and tried to escape, only tightening his hold. "You should hang out with us! Tsuna and Gokudera won't mind."

Giving up on trying to escape the unwanted hold as it only seemed to make Takeshi hold him tighter, Bel tensed from the uncertainty these words caused him; did Takeshi really mean them…? "…R-really…?"

"Of course! You can be our friend if you want to be."

"…" Looking to his lap, Bel was completely unaware of the way he slowly relaxed into the stronger male's arms. "…I… have never had a friend… Squalo… always said he wanted me to have a friend… But I didn't like anyone enough to want to have friends…"

"Let's be friends, then. Okay?" Smiling down at Bel, Takeshi was glad when he received a hesitant nod a few moments later.

Hayato soon returned after this, raising his eyebrow as he noticed how much Bel's mood had improved since his absence. He took his seat, trying to ignore the way the newcomer's gaze seemed to be fixed on him; what the fuck was wrong with this kid?

"Can I help you?" Not caring for how rude he sounded, Hayato scowled at Bel.

"Hayato is cute." Not understanding why everyone stared at him after this announcement, Bel simply cocked his head to the side, wondering if they all thought the same of himself. "Does Hayato think that I'm cute, too?"

Tsuna was quick to jump over to his friend and put his hand over Hayato's mouth in order to silence him; he knew that nothing friendly would come out of the silver-haired teen's mouth. Shaking his head at the other, he hoped Hayato would understand that the brunet didn't want him to reply; Tsuna wouldn't be able to bear it if the volatile teen were to upset their new friend.

It was Takeshi who replied to Bel, in a very calm manner. "Do you like boys, Bel?"

Bel nodded, feeling a tad more comfortable with the younger group; they had been so nice to him… "I like girls, too. Squ-Squ says I'm not supposed to watch the adult movies on the internet, but I do anyway; they make me really hard, and it feels good when I touch myself when I'm hard."

While Tsuna blushed scarlet at these words, too shy to know how to reply, Takeshi simply laughed, as friendly as ever. "That's good, then, Bel. But you know, you're supposed to keep those thoughts to yourself; you shouldn't tell them to your friends."

"Why not?" A little confused, Bel cocked his head to the side. "I tell Squ-Squ when I'm hard, and he knows when I go to masturbate; sometimes he tells me to do it when I feel bad."

"Yes, but that's Squalo," Takeshi explained in a gentle manner. "He's your guardian; you can talk to him about those things, but we are your friends; we shouldn't tell each other about that. Alright?"

"Okay." Looking back at Hayato, Bel repeated his original question. "Does Hayato think I'm cute?"

"U-umm, Bel, let's not ask Gokudera-kun things like that." Tsuna smiled shyly, knowing how agitated his best friend was getting. "He doesn't like these kinds of conversations."

Nodding, Bel reached down to pick at his striped socks. He remained silent at this, finished with sharing his train of thought; now he wanted to listen quietly to what the others were talking about. He couldn't help but slowly feel comfortable around them enough to add in his own thoughts on the topic on occasion, but he much preferred to listen; it was less stressful for him that way.

"Hey, Bel."

Humming as he heard his name, Bel looked up from the floorboards he had been picking at. He found Tsuna and Takeshi looking at him, so waiting for them to continue on, he remained silent.

"Do you want to stay the night here with us?"

Bel sucked in a sharp breath at this, not sure how to reply; he suddenly felt very nervous. Clenching his hands, he tensed as he said, "…I… always sleep with Squ-Squ… I get… scared at night…"

Takeshi jumped to his feet at this, disappearing for a few minutes before returning with something brown and fluffy in his hands. Passing it over to his new friend, he said, "Sleep with Jiro, Bel; he's a big snuggler."

Bel looked down at the puppy that had been shoved in his arms. It was small, brown and white fur fluffing up from its body. It looked up at him with trusting eyes, its curled tail wagging against his stomach. "…"

"Do you like him?" Takeshi sat beside the blond, scratching his pet behind the ear. "My pop gave him to me as a gift. He's not very old, but he loves people."

Bel hugged the animal tight to him, having never been around puppies before; he had never had a pet, and he had only really ever been around Dino's turtle. "…Can I sleep with him, Takeshi…?"

"Of course you can. He'll keep you safe."

"Then I want to stay. Can I get my blanket from home? I can't sleep without it."

Nodding, Takeshi was just glad that Bel was staying; as socially inept as he was, he was quickly learning how to feel comfortable around the trio. "You can get whatever you want from home."

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Bel sent a quick text to his guardian, asking for his blanket and pillow. Speaking to his new friends, he said, "I want to sleep in here with you."

"I'll set up a futon for you soon, Bel."

"Okay. I have to masturbate before bed; it helps me sleep."

Ignoring the frustrated grunt Hayato made, Takeshi just nodded. "That's fine, Bel. The bathroom is just across the hall. You can do that whenever you need to; just make sure you wash your hands and clean up after yourself, please.'

"I will." Laying on his back, Bel let the puppy rest on his chest. He giggled as it licked his cheek, happy that it seemed to like him already. He was glad he had decided to come here tonight, because even though it had messed up his routine, he was having fun.

Hopefully Squalo would be stoked when Bel told him he had made friends.


	12. Chapter 12

Within the weeks that had passed by, Bel had slowly gotten closer to the younger trio. However, he had also been pushed further away from his family with each visit they paid him. It wasn't that his parents were doing anything wrong as Bel _wanted _to embrace what they were giving him, having missed out on it his entire life, but his brother was the problem; Rasiel had done nothing but hurt the younger twin whenever they were alone together. Bel hated the way his brother shoved his hand down Bel's pants, and he resented the words that were always spoken to him, but he knew that if he were to tell Squalo, Rasiel would hurt him even more.

It was safe to say that if Squalo ever tried giving Bel back to his parents, Bel wouldn't want to go; he only wanted to stay forever with his guardian.

"Squ?" Seeking out Squalo, Bel found the man outside on the veranda, a smoke in his mouth as he surveyed the neighbourhood. Moving to sit next to Squalo, Bel tugged at the older male's pants. He waited until the other was looking down at him before he passed his phone over, a silent request for him to read the message thread that was open on the screen.

Flicking through the messages, Squalo raised an eyebrow as he noticed that they were from Hayato. A lot of the messages were nothing but nasty, but the man wasn't oblivious to the fact that the silver-haired male was trying to chat Bel up – however, it seemed that the blond didn't understand the intentions behind those texts and thought they were just being friendly.

"Can I go to Hayato's house?" Accepting his phone as it was passed back to him, Bel looked up at his guardian with a hopeful look. "Please?"

Squalo nodded, taking another puff of his cigarette; Bel was finally starting to leave the house a bit more, and he wanted to keep encouraging it so that the boy learnt more social skills. "Does he know you like him?"

Shaking his head, Bel said, "Dino said not to tell him yet."

"Probably a good idea…" Not liking some of the messages the teenager in question had been sending to Bel, Squalo felt uncomfortable with Hayato knowing the boy's feelings towards him; if the youngest male dared take advantage of Bel's emotions… "I'll take you over there at two, okay? If you don't like anything he says or does to you, call me straight away and tell me what he's doing."

Bel nodded. Getting back to his feet, he stood behind the man as Squalo rested comfortably in the outdoor chair. The boy gathered long, silver locks into his hands, his thin digits parting it expertly before nimbly forming braids. His cheeks reddened slightly as his groin twitched in interest, unable to help himself; he was so easily aroused, and it didn't seem to matter who by. "Squ looks so pretty with braids."

Annoyed by his charge's actions but not stopping the younger, Squalo grunted quietly. "You'd better let me take this shit out before we leave the house, brat."

Stepping back to admire his work, Bel shook his head. "But then everyone will see how pretty Squa is, and everyone will want him to be their boyfriend. Then Squ-Squ will stop crying at night because he will have someone to make love to. Squ-Squ can make love to me if he wants; I don't mind."

Feeling a wave of panic wash through him at these words, Squalo had to work hard to remain composed; he wasn't going to tell the blond that the reason he cried at night was because he was depressed and overthought everything – and that last bit? No _way _was Squalo _ever _going to fuck his kid! For one thing, he liked _girls, _and the other…!

Squalo quite simply didn't ever want to put Bel in the position Squalo's uncle had left him in.

"I would never do that to you, Bel." Speaking gently, Squalo put out his cigarette. "You should only have sex with someone you love."

"But I love you lots and lots, Squ~ And you're so pretty~" Cocking his head to the side, Bel frowned now. "Does Squ not think that I am cute? Does he not love me, too?"

Sighing, Squalo stood up to go back inside. "You're a very nice-looking kid, but I just _can't _look at you that way, Bel. I can only look at _girls _that way. And when I mean love, I don't mean the kind of way you love _me_."

"I don't understand." Wishing that the world wasn't so fucking _confusing, _Bel's frown deepened. "What kind of love? How do I know if I love someone that way? What does it feel like?"

How was Squalo supposed to answer those questions when he himself didn't know the answer to them? The damage left over from his uncle's abuse prevented him from being able to actively go out and try to get even a date, and though he could look at a woman and know that he wouldn't mind fucking her if he had the chance, he wasn't sure he would be able to act on that; he found it hard enough to let people physically close to him, let alone mentally, and the only people he could handle touching him were Dino and Bel – anyone else, and it only incited a violent reaction from him.

"I don't know, Bel." Deciding to be honest with Bel, Squalo shook his head. "Maybe talk to the Bucking Horse about that; he's had a few boyfriends already."

"How come Squ has never had a girlfriend?" Following the man into Squalo's bedroom, Bel waited by the door as he watched the older male gather casual clothing to wear in town; despite it being early afternoon, Squalo still had yet to change out of his pyjamas.

"For the same reason you've never been in a relationship, brat." Pulling his pyjama top over his head, Squalo tossed it into the laundry basket next to him. "I don't find it easy to talk to others, too."

"So is Squ still a virgin, then? Has anyone ever touched him, even?"

Flinching at this question, how was Squalo supposed to answer? Truthfully, he _was _somewhat a virgin – he didn't want to think about all of the fingers and toys his uncle had forced inside his body, nor the arousal that had constantly tried to penetrate him, and _would have _had he not fought tooth and nail to get away every time – and the only person who had ever touched him was the same man in question. Squalo didn't want to admit any of his to his charge; it was something Bel just didn't need to know about.

"…Yes. Yes, I am still a virgin, Bel. And no; no one's ever touched me before." Closing his eyes as he lied to his kid, Squalo knew it was for the best; Bel didn't need to know how disgusting and pathetic his revered guardian was, after all.

"Squ doesn't touch himself, does he?" Ignoring the way his pants were quickly tightening as he watched the other undress, Bel waited for a response; he slept with his guardian most nights, and even on the nights he was in his own room, he still hadn't heard a single sound from Squalo that could be self-pleasure.

Shaking his head, Squalo felt as if he could cry; he wished he could, but… every time he had tried, he could only shudder in disgust and self-loathing as his uncle's unwanted touch tingled through his skin in a ghostly manner. "No. I don't."

"Why not? It feels really good, Squ-Squ~"

Shaking his head, Squalo felt a little worried; he knew it was normal for sex to be something most teenaged males craved and thought about a lot, but he also knew that Bel's obsession with masturbation wasn't completely normal; even Dino – a sexually healthy male, unlike Squalo – had said that Bel shouldn't be as fixated on sex and masturbation as he was.

But what could they do? Nothing; Bel was simply developing _very _healthily in sexual areas.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore, Bel. Go and get ready; we're leaving in an hour."

Bel hesitated to leave, not wanting to miss out on seeing the man get dressed; he loved watching, because it always made him so hard.

Eventually turning around to go to his own room, the boy made sure to lock the door and close the curtains before curling up on his bed, his hand in his pants within seconds. No matter how many times a day he did this, he could never get enough of it.

Hopefully one day he would be able to tell Hayato that he liked him, and Hayato would do things with him like in the adult movies.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Squalo had dropped Bel off at Hayato's home not long later, the boy was glad to see that it was just them; as much as he liked Takeshi and Tsuna, he found that he never got to spend much time with the silver-haired male as Hayato only ever seemed to distance himself from everyone else when Tsuna was around.

But now, Bel was happy that he could finally have the younger's attention on him and get to know him better.

"Hayato-kun?" Sitting on the younger's couch, Bel liked that Hayato lived in an apartment by himself; it meant there was no one else around to get in the way. "Where's your kitty?"

"Fucked if I know." Leaning down to pick up items Bel had carelessly knocked from their shelves and hadn't bothered to clean up, Hayato grunted in annoyance; the blond pissed him off to no end most of the time. "Probably in my room sleeping. Oi! Don't just wander through my home without asking me first!"

Bel jumped off the couch at these words, his feet carrying him in silence towards the younger's bedroom. He pushed open the door and found the teen's kitten sleeping on the double bed, soft purrs audible to the boy. He paid no heed to Hayato who had come up behind him, instead approaching the bed and picking the kitten up to hold against his chest.

"I like your kitty, Hayato-kun."

"I hope he scratches you…" Muttering under his breath as he turned around to go back into the living room, Hayato forgot just how sensitive his guest's hearing was; he missed the upset look that crossed Bel's face as hurt spread through his body like a knife wound. "What do you want for lunch, freak?"

Hugging the kitten tighter, Bel looked down at his feet. He stood by the bed, licking his lips before asking, "Why is Hayato-kun so mean to me…?"

Hayato turned back around at this, feeling no sympathy for the older male who looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Shaking his head, he walked back to the other, stopping close enough to feel the boy's body heat.

"You really _are _stupid, aren't you?" Waiting until Bel had lifted his head to look at the other in confusion, Hayato then reached out and gripped blond locks, yanking in a painful manner to bring his guest's face closer to his. Smashing their lips together with bruising force, he then pressed his body against the thinner one, walking Bel backwards to pin him against the wall.

Bel whimpered at this, his heart pounding furiously against his ribcage from anxiety. He tried to push Hayato away, but the younger refused to move; the silver-haired student instead grinded their hips together as he forced his tongue past hesitant lips.

Bel moaned from pain-tinged pleasure, his body starting to quiver; he had never done well when he felt as if he were being restrained. Forcing his head to the side to break contact with the other's lips, Bel felt tears well up in his eyes; what was the younger doing to him…?

Hayato pulled his face away, leaving his arms outstretched against the wall and his body pressed against the frail one. He held a look of mixed emotion on his face, his green eyes full of something Bel couldn't place. "Hey. If you like boys, then you can be my boyfriend."

Lifting his hand to wipe at his mouth, Bel kept his head turned to the side; oh, how frightened he was right now… "…"

"Did you hear me, freak?" Remorseless when he received a shy nod in response, Hayato pushed Bel's head back to face him. "So you understand, right? You're my boyfriend."

Bel nodded again, starting to tremble; he hadn't expected anything like this when Hayato had told him to come around. Reaching out, he threw himself at the younger male, wrapping his arms tight around his friend as he buried his face against the other's chest. "…"

Hayato didn't like the boy clinging to him, but Bel wouldn't let go when the stronger male tried to shove him off; with a sigh, he said, "Get on the bed. I've been wanting to fuck you for ages."

Whimpering, Bel could feel his tears roll down his cheeks; did Hayato want sex with him so soon? Bel wasn't ready for that yet! Sure, he was eager to re-enact the things he saw on the internet, but that didn't mean he could do it right away; it was still very daunting for him, and suddenly being thrown into this position without warning terrified him. "H-hayato-kun…!"

Trying to pull the boy to the side to get him on the mattress, Gokudera growled when the other only resisted. "You're the fucker who can't keep his mind out of the gutter! And now you don't want it?"

Shaking his head, Bel wrapped his arms around himself as he begun to rock where he stood. He couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his skin, soft whimpers escaping his lips. "I… I-I'm not… ready, Hayato-kun… I've never… Never… It's my first time…"

"What are you, a girl?" Hayato sneered, not seeing why the boy was so worked up, even if it _was _his first time; how the fuck was sex even scary? "Fine. But you're my boyfriend; we're going to do _some _things together tonight."

"I'm scared…" With the things his brother did to him behind everyone's back, and the fact that he really had never been consensually intimate with someone before, Bel felt horrified by all of this; he had had no warning, no time to mentally and emotionally prepare, and now… He was expected to jump right into something he had only really done by himself before. Bel knew he wasn't ready so soon, and he hoped Hayato would understand.

Sighing, Hayato dropped it and backed away from the other. "Whatever. I'm going to make lunch. What do you want?"

Sniffing, Bel wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. "…"

Hayato said nothing about this; he just left the room, knowing that Bel would come back out when he was ready.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Squalo had dropped Bel's favourite blanket and pillow to him that night, Bel held them tightly in his arms as he stood in the doorway of Hayato's bedroom. He was nervous about this, having never spent the night at Hayato's home before – and with what the teenager had said earlier…

What was Hayato going to do to him…?

"Hayato-kun…?" Still standing in the threshold, Bel cocked his head to the side as he watched his friend – boyfriend now, apparently – fight with his kitten to get it off the bed. "When are you going to make my bed up for me?"

"I'm not making you a bed; you can sleep with me." Finally getting his kitten down onto the floor, Hayato glared after it as he stalked past Bel and out into the hallway. "Bring your shit here."

Bel hesitated, but he eventually made it over to the younger. He flinched as his belongings were snatched from his arms, but he was relieved to see that Hayato was at least considerate of the fact that the blond wasn't able to tolerate certain fabrics and was allowing Bel to curl up within his own blanket on top of them.

When he was done, Hayato gestured to the bed. "Lay down."

Bel did as told, his mouth going dry. He climbed up onto the bed, laying on his side with his knees drawn to his chest as he stared up at the teen. "…"

"On your back." Pulling Bel's legs straight down onto the mattress, Hayato sat on them to keep them from moving. He ignored the soft cries of pain Bel made at this action, refusing to move despite his boyfriend's attempts at pulling his legs free.

"Stop! Stop!" Beginning to hyperventilate as he felt a hand slide past the waistband of his pants, Bel started to cry once again; he didn't like the fingers that were caressing his entrance, and he wanted to go home. "Squa! I wanna go home! Squa!"

Hayato stopped at this, pulling his hand back out. He closed his eyes as he noticed just how terrified the other looked, but he didn't apologise; he simply laid down next to Bel and pulled him close. "Go to sleep. Don't tell _anyone _about this; you're my boyfriend, so you can't tell people what happens between us – especially not Squalo. Got it?"

Curling in close against Hayato, Bel cried himself to sleep. Needless to say, his dreams were full of nightmares, and he got even less rest than he usually did at night.


	13. Chapter 13

When Squalo picked Bel up the next morning, he couldn't help but notice that his charge seemed to be riddled with anxiety; the boy was very quiet, not saying much at all as he clung desperately to his guardian with a quivering body. Squalo had asked both Hayato and Bel if something had happened, and while the youngest said that everything had been fine, Bel just shook his head and whimpered.

So now, as Squalo carried Bel's blanket and pillow through the apartment complex with Bel holding tight to his left hand, the man couldn't help but become more worried by the minute; it had been a few years since the blond had been so anxious, he had reverted to how he had been after first being found.

"If something happened, you know you can tell me." Looking down at Bel, Squalo tried his best to remain patient; something was greatly bothering his kid, and he needed to fix it. "You can tell me anything."

"…"

"Did he do anything to you?" Wanting to go back and strangle that little fucker upstairs until Hayato spilt the beans, Squalo knew he couldn't do that; it was possible that Bel was just unsettled from having spent the night in an unfamiliar environment.

Looking up at the man, Bel held his jaw taut. How was he supposed to reply to this? Did he tell Squalo what the younger had done to him last night? Or did he keep it a secret like he was told to?

Finally, deciding to tell Squalo that he was Hayato's boyfriend at least, Bel knew he wouldn't be telling on Hayato if Squalo were to figure out the other's actions himself; he wouldn't have done anything wrong if the man clicked on without Bel saying anything more.

"…" Licking his dry lips, Bel pulled his hand from the other's gloved grip. He raised his arms into the air in a silent request to be picked up, and he didn't speak again until he was firmly nestled against his guardian's strong chest. "…Hayato-kun… I… I'm his boyfriend now..."

Knowing that that alone would be enough to invoke such intense anxiety in his kid, Squalo softened his demeanour; he didn't want to stress the boy any more than he already was by asking complicated questions. Instead, he kept it simple and straight to the point. "Did he do anything sexual to you?"

Looking at the floor, Bel licked his lips again; what did he say…? "…"

"Brat. Did he do anything sexual with you?" Hoping that Bel didn't think he was angry at _him _if that was the case, Squalo lifted his hand in order to cup the younger's pale cheek. "It's _okay _if you did sexual things with him as long as you _wanted _it to happen. I'm not angry; you can do whatever you want with your boyfriend; I just don't want him to do anything to you that you don't like or don't want."

By now, they had exited the apartment complex and were standing before Squalo's car. Bel whined as he was put onto solid ground, wanting to go back into Squalo's arms. "…"

"You can tell me." Unlocking the vehicle and putting the blanket and pillow on the back seat, Squalo next shut the door and looked down at Bel. "I just want to make sure that you're happy and comfortable; relationships are a big thing."

"…" Looking past Squalo, Bel whispered, "….H-hayato-kun… d-did sexual stuff to me l-l-last night… He m-m-made me… c-cry… I had n-n-nightmares, too…"

Kneeling before Bel, Squalo grabbed the boy's hand with one of his own, lifting the other to wipe away tears that were starting to fall down the boy's cheeks. Whispering his own response, Squalo felt his heart break; please don't let Bel know the same pain _he _did… "What kind of sexual things did he do to you, Bel?"

"…" Bel ducked his head. "…H-he… put his h-hand in my pants… He t-touched my… My bottom…"

"Bel…" Pulling the younger into a tight embrace, Squalo wished he knew what to say to comfort his charge. "Did you consent to it? Or tell him to stop?"

"I told him to s-stop…"

"And did he?" Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding when the blond nodded, Squalo fought back his own tears; he didn't trust Hayato to_ not _have molested Bel – then again, he always assumed the worst in these kinds of situations – but he couldn't simply go up there and smash Hayato's head in; he was just a kid with hormones who sounded as if they had been too forceful towards someone in Bel's condition – the kid had _stopped _when told, unlike _someone _Squalo knew…

Opening the passenger side door and helping Bel into it, Squalo was silent until he, too, was sitting in the car. "When we get home, you can sit on the couch for an hour with your blanket and watch TV. I'll make you a hot chocolate with marshmallows."

Lifting his hand, Bel wiped at his eyes with the back of it. "Okay…"

"When your hour is up, you need to get dressed into something nice; your family wants to have lunch with us in town."

Letting out a whine, Bel pulled his knees to his chest. "…"

Sighing, Squalo shook his head. "I know… They wanted to take you out with them, but I wouldn't let them; I won't leave them unsupervised around you, brat."

Undoing his seatbelt so that he could lean across the car and hug Squalo tight, Bel wished he could stay like this forever; he loved Squalo so much, he didn't know what he would do without the man. "I love you, Squ-Squ."

"I love you, too, Bel." Gently pushing the other away, Squalo changed the car into fourth gear. "Now sit down; you're in the way of the gearstick."

Bel did as told, beginning to hum to himself as he turned to stare out of the passenger window, his anxiety slowly winding down now that he was away from the source of it. He wasn't looking forward to seeing his parents again, but at least Squalo was staying by his side.

Bel didn't want to know what would happen if he were to ever be left alone with his parents, because his brother was bad enough.

_**~~XX~~**_

Stepping into the large café with Squalo two hours later, Bel couldn't help but hold the man's hand in both of his as he followed behind the older male, terrified by the overwhelming noise he could hear all through the café. Reaching into his pocket with trembling hands, he pulled his iPod and earphones out in order to try and block some of the noise with music.

"We'll try not to stay too long, brat." Squeezing the boy's fingers, Squalo wished he had convinced the others to pick some place quieter, but they had insisted on one of the busiest cafes in Namimori. "Maybe some of the other patrons will leave and it'll be a bit quieter."

Sticking as close as he could to the man, Bel kept his head ducked as they walked towards one of the tables in the back, Squalo having seen the others seated there earlier. The boy didn't want to be here at all; he wanted to go back home and play videogames, because this was messing up his routine, and he _hated _it.

"Squ, I wanna go home…" Hesitant to sit down at the table until Squalo had, Bel instantly dropped himself on the man's lap, refusing to look at his family.

"Get off me, brat." It took a few minutes to finally get Bel onto the seat next to him, but when he did, he turned to look at Rosaline and Willheim. "Have you already ordered your food?"

"No; we were waiting for you." Pulling her purse out of her handbag, Rosaline offered a smile that Squalo didn't entirely buy; he had never felt as if she and her husband were true to their words and actions. "What would you and Belphegor like, Squalo?"

Offended by this, Squalo shook his head; did she think he was poor or something…? Of course he could fucking buy lunch for his kid! "I'll buy our own shit…"

"Oh, no; I insist. It is the least we could do after everything you have done for Bel."

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Squalo clenched his hands by his sides; why the fuck did they even have to _be _here…? "Whatever… Just get me a coffee, and the brat will have dango."

Rosaline nodded as she summoned over a waitress. Relaying their orders, she then turned back to Squalo, her smile widening as she rested her chin in her hand. "There is actually something we would very much like to talk to you about, Squalo."

"Yeah?" Hating the bad feeling he was getting from these words, Squalo tensed.

"We don't think it's appropriate to discuss in front of Belphegor, however." Willheim had stepped in now, his hands twitching almost subtly, but Squalo was too perceptive to miss this. "Perhaps after he has eaten, he would like to go for a walk with Rasiel."

Squalo couldn't stand the idea of letting Bel wander off out of his sight while they were in town, and especially not with Rasiel; he couldn't be sure as his charge wouldn't tell him, but he had a feeling that the reason Bel always seemed to cry and scream when left in a room alone with his brother for not even a minute was because the older twin was doing something – even though Bel _was _clingy, he could handle having Squalo walk out of the room for a few minutes before he started getting upset. "…"

As always, Bel never said a word to his family; he simply sat in his seat, playing with his iPod. He whimpered when his brother came up beside him, freezing in fright; what was Rasiel going to do to him _now…? _

"What are you listening to, brother?" Pulling one of the buds out from Bel's ear, Rasiel listed it to his own. He blinked when, within seconds, Bel screamed and ripped the other bud from his ear, slapping his hands over his ears as he shuddered in pain; the sudden imbalance of sound in just one ear had been horrible, and he could already feel a headache coming on.

Squalo couldn't help but glare at the older twin as he pulled Bel into his arms, wanting to tear the other apart for what he had just done – however, he knew he couldn't do that; at least, not until he got a hold of the little fucker without his parents around. "It's okay, Bel. It's alright."

The man didn't have the heart to turn Bel away when the boy climbed onto his lap again; he instead held his charge tight, wishing they weren't in this situation; why couldn't those fucks just piss off and leave them alone? They were _never _a parent to Bel in the _first place_.

"He really seems to be… _dependent _on you…"

Squalo couldn't help but growl at the disgust he heard in Willheim's voice, knowing that they were thinking badly of Bel. He wanted to get up and punch some sense into the older male and try and make the other understand that Bel might not have been this bad had his fucking _parents _not _abused _him. "You got a problem with that? Because _I _don't. He's a _kid_, and he's _upset_."

"He's not a child; he's sixteen, and he should be acting like a sixteen-year-old; not a _toddler._"

"Voi! This is _my _fucking kid! _I _raised him; not _you_! He may be yours biologically, but you _never _acted like parents to him! Don't come here and tell _me _what he's meant to do! He was just fine without your fucking presences in his life!"

"Please lower your voice; people are staring." The disapproval in Rosaline's voice was strong with this, and it only made Squalo want to punch _her, _too. "Get him off your lap before everyone thinks badly of us. He is a teenager; not a little boy. If you want to coddle him unnecessarily, do so in your _own _home; not in public."

It had been a long time since someone had said something about Bel that sickened Squalo to his very core; oh, how he would love to kill all three of them…

Squalo, however, didn't get a chance to reply back as a waitress warily approached their table with their orders. She put the coffee and plate of dango down in front of Squalo before giving the others their meals, sending a strange look to the silver-haired man before leaving.

Rosaline stood up at this, coming to Squalo's side. "Oh, sweetheart, you don't need to sit on his lap like this. Come and sit with us." Reaching out to put her hand on Bel's back, the woman flinched when Squalo's arm shot out and pushed her away, the man tense as several emotions flickered across his face.

"_Don't…_ come near me…" Sliding across the chair to put distance between he and the woman, Squalo glared hatefully at the table. "Don't _fucking _touch me."

Rosaline frowned at this. She chewed at her lip for a few seconds before returning to her seat, watching as Squalo recovered and lifted a stick of dango to encourage Bel to eat.

Clearing his throat, Willheim gathered everyone's attention before he reached into his wife's handbag in order to resurface with several sheets of paper. When he spoke, it was in a tone laced with anger Squalo _knew _was directed at him. "If you would just sign these forms, Squalo, that would be _great_."

Snatching them from the table, Squalo only had to see that they were legal documents in order to change guardianship for Bel before he clenched his hands, scrunching the papers violently; there was no fucking _way _he was signing these! "You really think I'm just going to give him back to you…? You abused the fuck out of him; I'm surprised he's turned out so well with how he was when we found him. And even now, you're _still _treating him like fucking shit."

"By law, we are still recognised as his parents, Squalo. If you won't sign the forms, we _will _take you to court."

"Fucking try it!" Getting to his feet, Squalo picked his charge up. "You honestly _think _I'm just going to _sign _him back over to you fucks? Why? He's sixteen; it's taken you _sixteen fucking years _to show a bit of _decency _towards him – _sixteen years _to _want _him! What you want him for, I don't even want to know! You gonna kick him around a bit more? Leave him covered in more wounds to scar for the rest of his life? Because he's already got a decent amount of scars on his body from whatever you bastards did to him! I _would _have given him back had you actually been _decent fucking parents _to him before, but it's too late! I'm not giving _my _kid back to abusive parents!"

"He's not your kid, nor has he _ever _been your kid."

"Voi! I've been more of a parent to him than either of _you _ever have! As far as Bel's concerned, _I'm _his family – not _you _pricks!"

"We'll see you in court, Squalo."

Squalo didn't reply back to these words; he just carried his kid out of the café and back to his car. He took a few moments to calm the boy down, but soon enough, he found himself heading home, wishing today was just some fucked up nightmare he would soon wake up from.

Squalo should have known that sooner or later, someone would try and take Bel from him. Life had a fucked up way of always hating on him, after all.


	14. Chapter 14

Within the months that had passed by, Squalo had fought tooth and nail to keep legal guardianship of Bel, but nothing he had done had been good enough; he had lost the court case, and he was now spending his last days with whom he _knew _was _his _kid – not _theirs_. It broke his heart to know that he had no choice but to give Bel back, but he didn't want to know just how much it was hurting Bel, because when told, the boy had never cried so hard and for so long before.

Sitting on the couch in Dino's living room, Bel waited for Squalo to finish up with the last court session; he had gone home from school with Dino that day, the blond caring for him until Squalo could take him home. He wasn't in the best of moods, stressed greatly from having his routine messed with several times today without adequate time and warning to prepare. He was grumpy and tired, and his guardian's words continued to play through his mind like a broken record; _I'm not allowed to take care of you anymore… I'm sorry, Bel… _

Dino, who was sitting on the couch next to his pupil, could feel the depression wafting from the boy. He wanted to reach out and hug Bel tight, but the younger wouldn't want that right now; he would want nothing but Squalo.

Instead, the man put his wineglass down on the coffee table and said, "It'll be alright, Bel. You've still got a few days to spend with Squalo; try and make the best of them."

Shaking his head, Bel pulled his knees to his chest as tears started rolling down his cheeks once more. "I don't want to go back… How come no one listened to what _I _wanted…? Only Squ listened when I said I wanted to stay with him…"

"I know…" Grabbing some tissues from the box sitting on the coffee table, Dino passed them down to his charge. "It's horrible, isn't it? But sadly, no one listens to the minors…"

"I want to stay with Squ… I hate my family…" Trying to wipe his tears away, Bel shivered as his stress came harder; the more he thought about this, the more he felt so incredibly overwhelmed, he thought he might throw up. "Don't… wanna go back…"

"Bel, I can't – Bel!" Dino's eyes widened as he reached out, steadying the boy as Bel suddenly fell forwards, loud retching filling the air as the smaller blond vomited violently onto the floor amidst his tears. "Oh, god… Bel…"

Wiping at his mouth with his sleeve, Bel cast a fearful look up at Dino; oh, please don't let him be mad…! "I'm sorry…! I'm sorry…!"

"It's alright," Dino promised. Grabbing some more tissues, he wiped away the vomit clinging to the boy's face. "You did _nothing _wrong. I know how upset you are, and it's okay; we're all very sad about this. Would you like to have a shower and make sure all the spew is gone?"

Bel nodded, hating the specks he could feel on his hands and face. He continued to cry as he made his way towards the bathroom in a wobbly manner, waiting for Dino to turn the taps on and set the water at his favourite temperature. He wanted to continue wiping his tears away as Dino undressed him, but he couldn't bear the thought of smearing more vomit across his skin; he couldn't handle even the tiniest amount of dirt on him, much less vomit.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Dino knew full-well that Squalo had babied Bel to the point the blond wouldn't even dress himself, much less bathe alone, so he wasn't surprised when he received a small nod in response – Squalo had done the right thing for the first few years of caring for Bel, but the man should have stopped encouraging over-dependency after the boy hit his teenage years. Dino couldn't blame him, though; Squalo had only wanted Bel to experience the love and care _neither _of them had gotten from _either _of their families. "Alright. The water is just the way you like it."

As usual, it took Bel a few minutes to get in the shower, the steady stream of water too much for him to handle for long; the drops falling on him felt like heavy stones being launched at his body without remorse, and he _hated _it.

"You know…" Picking up the shampoo bottle so that he could lather it in Bel's hair, Dino was glad to see the younger's crying was stopping, "…Squalo isn't going to let this go so easily. He _has _to give you to them, but he'll keep trying his best to get you back. Hopefully he'll find a way soon."

"How come I had to keep seeing them when I didn't want to, but I'm not allowed to keep seeing Squ when I _do _want to…?" Hissing in pain as Dino's fingers against his scalp sent pain through his body, Bel's trembling increased; why was today so cruel…? "I don't understand… Can't I see Squ when I want to…?"

Shaking his head, Dino grabbed a small jug from the counter next to him. He filled it up with water before passing it to Bel, a silent request for the younger to wash out the shampoo at his own pace. "The court won't allow it. If Squalo comes within a certain radius of you, the police can charge him."

"But that's not _fair!_" Stomping his foot against the bottom of the shower, Bel yelped as his footing was lost. He slipped backwards, Dino unable to catch him due to how slippery his body was; his head cracked against the back of the shower, his screams filling the bathroom as the drain filled with red.

Bel couldn't help but wonder; what had he done for life to hate him so much…?

_**~~XX~~**_

"What are you doing, brat…?" Looking down at the boy in his arms as they laid in bed together that night, Squalo couldn't help but thread his fingers through soft golden locks.

Bel continued snuggling in against his guardian, not satisfied until he was laying on top of the man with his head tucked beneath Squalo's chin. He didn't know what time it was; just that he had woken up again throughout the night. "…"

His fingers brushing against the medical patch on the back of Bel's head, Squalo sighed. He hugged the boy tight, tilting his head so that he could kiss his charge's temple. "Is your head hurting?"

Shaking his head, Bel stared through the crack in the curtains. Sure, the stitches he had gotten at the hospital earlier had been hurting previously, but they weren't now; he just couldn't sleep. It wasn't unusual for him to wake several times through the night and get up to play, but tonight was different; he didn't want to leave Squalo's side at all, just lay here and soak in the other's warmth. "…"

"Try and go back to sleep, Bel; it's very late, and not time for play. It's still dark; time for sleeping."

"…" Feeling a single tear slide down his cheek, Bel nodded. "…Does Squ still love me…?"

"Of course I still love you, brat. I'll always love you."

"Good… Because I still love Squ, too…"

"I know, Bel… Now _try _and get some sleep…"

"Okay…"

"Goodnight, Bel…"

"Goodnight…"

Squalo made no move to push Bel off him; he allowed the boy to remain on top of him as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Bel, however, didn't have as much luck; he had _tried _to do what Squalo told him to, but he just wasn't tired anymore. Laying where he was for the rest of the night, Bel couldn't help but stare through that crack in the curtain, his thoughts so loud, he couldn't focus on anything but them screaming at him.

Was it so bad that, for the first time in his life, Bel wanted to die…? If he couldn't be with Squalo, then he didn't see a point to life anymore – not if he were forced to go back to the family who hated him so fucking _much_.


	15. Chapter 15

Having been upset by the storm that had raged through his first class of the day, Bel had been glad when Dino had stayed with him in the office until it died down completely; storms were just too loud and violent for the boy to cope with on his own, and being forced to stay in class during one only made it far harder for him.

Sitting at the desk, Bel kicked his legs back and forth as his chin rested against his arms that were folded against the hardwood. He was watching Dino lazily, very tired from having not had much sleep last night. A thought crossed his mind as he noticed that his teacher was grading their tests, and he couldn't help but ask it; he had worked out ages ago that Dino liked one of his classmates, even if his guardian always denied it.

"Have you had sex with Kyouya yet?"

Dropping his pen to the desk, Dino's mouth fell open as he turned to stare wide-eyed at his blond student. He wasn't sure what had startled him the most; Bel asking such a blunt question out of the blue, or just… that… that _question _as a _whole…! _What had even _made _the boy think he liked his student in the _first place?!_ "Bel! Don't talk like that!"

Shrugging, Bel made no move to change his position. "I'm allowed to talk about sex as much as I want. Squa will hit you again if you keep bullying me because you're a prude. And you didn't answer my question; have you had sex with him yet?"

"Wha – no! He's my _student!_ I'll lose my _job!_"

"But do you _want _to have sex with him?" Uncurling himself from his slouch, the boy nudged his abandoned schoolbag with the tip of his shoe. "Hayato-kun really wants to have sex with me, but everyone says I can't have it because it'll damage my body. I don't want to have sex anyway; I don't like sex, but Hayato-kun keeps trying to make me. I just like when we touch each other instead; I don't want to have sex with him anymore. Why does Hayato-kun want to have sex with me when I don't want to have it with anyone?"

"Bel, I don't want to talk about Kyouya like this; he's my student and it's inappropriate. As for you and Hayato, you know Squalo is the best person for you to talk to; he will help you more than I can. Please talk to him instead of me; as long as Hayato listens to you when you say no, you don't need to tell me anything, okay?"

"I said no last night, but he still put his hand down my pants." Taking no notice of the flash of horror that crossed Dino's face, Bel continued on, feeling a little angry; as much as he enjoyed when they used their hands and mouth on each other, he didn't always want it – and on the odd occasion he didn't want it and said no, but Hayato still forced him into it anyway… Sometimes he really hated Hayato. "I said I didn't want him to touch me there because it was hurting, but he touched me anyway. He always makes me take my clothes off, too; especially at night when we're going to bed."

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Getting up from his chair, Dino moved to Bel's side. Kneeling by the boy, his hazel eyes softened tremendously, wishing he could pull the student into a hug, but knowing it would only hurt the other if he were to touch him. "How many times has he done that?!"

Blinking, Bel didn't understand why the teacher was so worked up; it was normal what happened between him and Hayato, right? Just because he didn't like the other being so forceful didn't mean much; he saw it all the time on the adult movies he watched on the internet, so why was Dino acting like this? Everything Hayato and he did were _normal_, no matter how much he sometimes wanted to hurt his boyfriend because of it. "He always did it, even before he said we were boyfriends now and were going to do lots of things together."

"He didn't even ask you out first?" Dino could barely believe what he was hearing, and it agitated him to no end; how _dare _someone take advantage of innocent little Bel like this?! "He just said you were boyfriends now?!"

"Was he supposed to ask first?" Feeling daunted by this information, Bel shifted uncomfortably. "He just said we were; I didn't know he had to ask first."

"Squalo didn't tell you that?"

"Was he meant to?"

"What's going on?"

The two blonds looked over to the office door, finding Bel's classmate and Head Prefect stepping in with an agitated look on his face. Bel sent him an annoyed look, having always clashed violently with the other; they just couldn't get along _at all. _

"Why's the blond herbivore in here? He should be in class." Glaring at the boy who had now tensed with his lips twisted, the Prefect was about ready to hit the other for breaking class rules; he hated how Bel always got special treatment, because the other certainly wasn't deserving of it; he was just a little shit who lived to piss everyone else off.

"Ah, Kyouya..." Putting his hands in the air to grab the youngest' attention, Dino shook his head. "Bel is allowed out of class when it's storming as long as he's with me or Squalo; that's why you have a substitute teacher right now."

"You're both skipping class for such petty reasons; you're a teacher, now get out there and teach, and take him with you."

Dino frowned, understanding exactly where his student was coming from, but it wasn't that simple; he would have liked to explain things to Kyouya, but he doubted the skylark would understand or care to try – the teenager seemed to have as little empathy skills as Bel; non-existent, in other words.

"Kyouya, I-"

"-The Bucking Horse wants to have sex with you." Bel cocked his head to the side, a grin crossing his face. He took no notice of the twin looks of horror the others donned, instead continuing on. "He likes you like how I like Hayato-kun; do you like him like that, too?"

"B-bel…" Dino could almost imagine the way the younger was going to react, none of it good; he would be lucky if both he _and _Bel got out of this unscathed. "Kyouya, he doesn't mean that; sometimes he says things like that just for the sake of saying it; it's not true. Settle down, Bel, I've already told you not to say things like that."

Bel giggled as he listened to the other two; he liked how flustered and panicky Dino had become, amused greatly by the way his guardian was trying so desperately to deny everything. However, his fun was soon cut short when the office door opened and Squalo stepped in, the boy's parents standing behind the silver-haired man. Bel froze, having tried so hard to pretend that today wasn't his last day with Squalo, but in the end, it had been worthless; they were still here to take him away from the only person he had ever truly connected with…

"Brat…" Squalo was unusually quiet, coming no further than the doorway. He looked to be full of turmoil, and Dino's expression fared no better; it was clear to any outsider that they were both heartbroken about this. "Come here."

Bel visibly tensed, sucking in a harsh gasp. He dropped his head, shaking it, taking a few steps back to put distance between them; why was Squalo doing this to him…? "…"

"Brat. I've already got your bag; you have to go…" Squalo's voice was choked now, as if he were fighting back a tidal wave of emotion. "I'm sorry; you've got to go, Bel…"

Tears started slipping down Bel's face now, his head shaking harder. He rocked slightly, his hands fumbling with each other. "N-no… I don't want to go… I want to stay with you…"

"I know you do…" Stepping further into the office, Squalo unintentionally backed his charge into a corner, the other refusing to let him near. "I don't want you to go either, but you have to… I tried my best…"

When Squalo's gloved hands made contact with Bel's shoulders, Kyouya and Dino were unprepared for the loud scream the other made, knowing that the boy could handle touch as long as it were given by the long-haired man; the skylark knew that whatever was going on was far more stressful for Bel than anything else had ever been.

Squalo didn't hesitate to pull the boy into a tight hug, holding him close until the other stopped screaming. He held Bel still so that Dino could say goodbye, soon picking the student up and carrying him out of the office without another word. He stood before the two older adults, glaring loathingly at them. "You fucking happy now that you pricks got your way?"

Twin sneers answered Squalo, and it took the man all the strength he had not to punch them both in the face. "Yes, we are _very _happy. You know, if you had just signed that paperwork in the first place, it would have been _a lot _easier on you."

Clenching his hands, Squalo pushed past the two as he stormed his way through the school, heading out to the car park. He hated the way Bel screamed and cried, and it almost made _him _cry as well when the boy started begging to stay and apologising for everything he had ever done.

"Don't make me go!" Holding his feet against the pillar of the car, Bel pushed outwards so that he couldn't be put in the back seat. "I'm sorry, Squ! I'm sorry! Please, don't make me go! I didn't mean to spill my milk on the couch!"

Squalo couldn't help but start to cry himself. He couldn't trust himself to reply, afraid of what would come out of his mouth, so in silence he simply pulled Bel's legs away from the pillar and sat him in. He tossed the younger's schoolbag on the floor before he buckled the boy into his seat, activated the child lock, and closed the door.

"I'm sorry!" Banging against the window desperately, Bel had tears rolling down his cheeks. "Why do you hate me, Squ?! Don't make me go! Please!"

Shaking his head, Squalo turned around and walked back inside the building, saying nothing at the taunts the boy's parents left him with. He held back his own emotions until, ten minutes later, he was back in his own office; grabbing his chair, he threw it out of the window before slumping against the wall, unable to hold back his own tears.

Bel was gone, and Squalo didn't know what to do anymore.

_**~~XX~~**_

When the car finally came to a stop and Bel was – eventually – brought inside a house _far _smaller than his home, the boy trembled violently as he dug his heels into the floor, refusing to move any further than the front door.

"I wanna go home…" Hugging himself tight, Bel whispered his pleas; why wasn't anyone _listening _to him…?! "Please, let me go h –"

Bel cried out as he was knocked to the ground, having been backhanded across the face. He curled up into a ball as his tears came harder, feeling sick at the blood pooling within his mouth. "…"

Willheim leant down, grabbing a handful of blond locks and lifting Bel into the air. "Listen, you little shit. Rasiel will be home from school soon, so you can wait in his room for him. He'll be _so _happy to know that he can… _play _with you again."

Screaming as he was dragged by the hair into his brother's room, Bel tried to get away, but when a heavy foot kicked him in the stomach after a few seconds, he was too winded to just keep trying; he was helpless as he was dragged through the house and quickly tossed onto a bed.

"Stay in here, you retarded little fuck. You put one _toe _past this door, and you'll wish you had never been born."

Bel obeyed, rocking himself with more desperation than he had in _years_; why couldn't he just _die…? _If Squalo didn't want him anymore, than there was no point for him to continue living.


	16. Chapter 16

It hadn't been even two days before Bel had run away. He had taken his chances, knowing that there couldn't be anything his parents could do to him that his brother hadn't already done worse – in just two days, Rasiel had done more with his younger twin than Bel and Hayato had done in _months_.

It was a stormy night, and Bel hadn't been able to handle anything at all; having his family abuse him worse than they had all those years ago, and then having one of his most feared things catch him off-guard…

Bel had ran, and he hadn't cared what would happen if his family were to catch him again.

Making his way up the long flights of stairs to Hayato's apartment, Bel had sought out the closest person he could think of to help him – and that just happened to be his boyfriend who probably was only using him for sexual matters.

Banging on the door minutes later, Bel trembled where he stood, his saturated clothing leaving puddles on the floor. It was pitch black, the only source of light coming from the moon as it shone over the balcony corridor. He couldn't help but keep pounding until Hayato opened it slowly, an extremely cautious look on the silver-haired male's face.

Bel didn't waste another second; throwing himself at his boyfriend, Bel knocked the younger to the ground as he pressed so close to Hayato, it was as if he were trying to become part of the other. "Hayato-kun…!"

Hayato was in a stunned silence, not saying a word until the situation became clear in his sleep-hazed mind; if Bel was standing on his doorstep… during a thunderstorm… at three-thirty in the morning…

Then Dino's suspicions _had _been correct when telling the younger group that he and Squalo believed Bel's parents would only abuse him once more.

"Bel…" Gently pushing at the boy's chest to make him get up, Hayato sighed when his boyfriend simply clung tighter to him; Bel was really worked up, wasn't he…? "Bel, what happened?"

Screaming loudly as a crash of thunder rattled the windows, Bel allowed his tears to come harder. "…"

"Bel, come on. Talk to me." Not understanding why he was suddenly feeling so worried over this, Hayato blamed his tiredness; he shouldn't be feeling like an overprotective parent when it came to Bel. "What happened?"

Shaking his head, Bel allowed his shaking to come harder. "…"

Rolling Bel onto his back, Hayato then got up, but not before noticing the way his boyfriend tensed, as if he had associated something horrible to being beneath someone. He shuddered to think about what could have brought this on all of a sudden, and instead reached down to pull Bel to his feet.

"Sit down on the couch." It wasn't easy coaxing Bel onto the couch, and even harder to get the boy to let go of him in order to bring the older male a blanket. Hayato didn't know why, but seeing the other like this…

It made his blood boil.

"I promise I'll be right back, Bel." Feeling a shaking hand finally release his nightshirt, Hayato stood up and went to his bedroom. Grabbing the light blanket Squalo had bought for him to keep on hand for Bel if he needed it, he went back out to the living room and draped it over Bel's shoulders. "You're soaking wet, Bel. Take your clothes off before you –"

Hayato had never heard a more terrified scream than the one he did right now – but having requested this from the other _many _times before, Bel had never acted like this… With a sigh, he stood up and went into the kitchen, turning the light on as he went about preparing a hot chocolate for Bel. He was glad that his neighbours were used to hearing the blond scream at night; he wasn't sure he could handle a visit from the police tonight.

Back in the living room, Bel whimpered and sobbed to himself as he heard the familiar sounds of Hayato banging around in the kitchen; Squalo had known this would happen, so why had he given him back…? Had Squalo grown sick of him…? Had he… stopped _loving _him…?

Had Squalo… _lied _about loving him in the _first place_…?

"Stop crying, Bel."

Looking up to see that Hayato had reappeared with a mug in his hand, Bel accepted the drink that was being given to him. He held it in both hands, staring down into the brown liquid. He couldn't stop his tears from falling into it and stirring the surface; he just…

Bel felt so _lost_…

"Why did you run away?" Sitting on the couch next to Bel, Hayato was far from surprised when the boy pulled himself onto his lap. Usually, he would have shoved the other away and called him names, but he couldn't do that tonight; something was very, _very _wrong, and he had no _fucking _idea what to do about it. "Bel?"

Shaking his head again, Bel licked at his lips. He lifted his head slowly in order to look at Hayato before he whispered, "M-my brother… m-makes me… do s-sexual things…"

Hayato felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He was disgusted, but not at Bel – _never _at Bel, never at the _victim_. Clenching his hands together, he couldn't help but remember every little cruel thing he had ever done to the blond. Bel hadn't deserved any of that, and it had taken something like _this _to make him see that. "…"

"I don't want to go back…" Sobbing, Bel found it hard to focus on any one thought; his mind was swimming with an undetermined amount, and it was incapacitating. "Please… D-dad… threw out my bag… M-my clothes and toys were in there…"

"Bel…" Strangely patient as Bel howled with another clap of thunder, Hayato closed his eyes; how could… someone _do _that to their child…? "…"

"I want to die…" Dropping his hot chocolate onto the couch, Bel wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. "Please… Please kill me, Hayato-kun… I want to die…"

Hayato didn't know what to do or say – but what he _did _know was that, in the here and now… he was utterly useless.

_**~~XX~~**_

It hadn't been until around six in the morning had Hayato finally gotten Bel to sleep. The boy hadn't dared close his eyes until the storm had stopped, and if he so much as felt Hayato move an inch, he instantly jerked awake in order to make sure the younger wasn't leaving him. It had been frustrating on the younger's behalf, but after finally laying with Bel for an hour, the boy had passed out from sheer exhaustion.

Now that Bel was sleeping soundly in bed, Hayato left to sit in the living room. He had a lot to think about, and he hoped Bel would remain asleep for a while; it wouldn't do to have the boy distracting him.

However, before he could get too far into his thoughts, he heard a neighbour's door slam. Flinching, Hayato knew that would wake his boyfriend – and the soft whimper coming from his room proved it.

"Bel?" Calling out to let the older male know he hadn't abandoned him, Hayato continued on. "I'm on the couch. What do you want for breakfast?"

Bel didn't reply; he just wandered out into the living room, looking more lost than Hayato had ever seen him. He soon dropped himself onto the couch, his head on the silver-haired male's lap. "…"

Threading his fingers through dirty golden locks, Hayato pretended not to notice the violent flinch he was rewarded with. "It's breakfast time. Want Takesushi?"

It took Bel a few moments to nod, but he made no attempt at getting up; he just lay where he was, staring into space.

Sighing, Hayato forced his way to his feet. He knew that if he were to make his own way to Takeshi's restaurant, then he would have time to himself to think about things. "Stay here; I'll bring back Takesushi."

Bel didn't reply; he just continued staring at nothing.

_**~~XX~~ **_

When Hayato finally returned with breakfast, Bel turned away from the window he had been staring out of. He slowly made his way over to the couch, sitting on it and watching as his boyfriend started sorting out the sushi containers. He took one that was handed to him, hesitating to take the chopsticks next, but no matter what, he just couldn't eat.

"I spoke to Squalo while I was out…" Stirring his rice absentmindedly with his chopstick, Hayato noticed the way Bel perked up at his guardian's name. "He… can't do anything for you, Bel…. No one will let him help you…. Dino rang me back after… He said.. That it's best if I take you back to your parents…"

Bel threw his container onto the ground at this. Pulling his knees to his chest, he cried. Everyone hated him, didn't they…?

But why…? What had he done…?

Hayato could only shake his head. He couldn't do anything to help, and he would only make things worse if he tried.

Hayato was better off not even trying, because he would just fuck it up more otherwise.

_**~~XX~~ **_

Having finally convinced Bel to go back, Hayato couldn't say he felt comfortable standing on the doorstep of Bel's parents' home; he felt awkwardly out of place, and angered that someone could leave Bel like this.

When the door was opened, whom Hayato assumed was Bel's father took just one look at the boy before pulling Bel inside by the hair. Hayato opened his mouth to point out that Bel was in pain, but he froze as he watched an encased foot kick Bel right in the stomach.

Seconds had passed, filled with Bel's screams as he was kicked repeatedly to the point the boy couldn't even move anymore.

"Hey!" Finally gathering his wits, Hayato shouted angrily. "Stop it!"

But for all Hayato's efforts, he only received a door slamming in his face.

Hayato knew he had done exactly what he had feared; he had fucked things up even more when only trying to do the right thing.


	17. Chapter 17

Bel had lost track of how long he had been at his family's mercy for. Had it been days? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? He didn't know anymore; all he knew was that their cruelty seemed to have no end.

So when the boy was loaded into his parents' car and taken into town, Bel wondered what was going to happen to him; why would they… take him away like this…?

"W-where are we going…?" Not sure he wanted to hear the answer, Bel looked down as he felt his brother's gaze fix on him. He trembled in his seat, terrified of how close together they were; he swore he had been put in the middle seat just so Rasiel could continue to grope him.

From the driver's seat, Willheim looked into the rear-view mirror, sneering. "Uncle Baldric wants to see you again; he couldn't get enough of you last night, could he?"

Bel shuddered, his heart starting to thump painfully; his uncle Baldric was worse than his mother, his father _and _Rasiel combined…! Why did his family hate him so much to want to always hurt him…? Why couldn't they… just _love _him…? "…"

"Don't cry, brother." Rasiel patted his brother on the shoulder in a mock-soothing manner. He laughed joyfully as Bel screamed and threw himself to the side, feeling himself becoming aroused merely from the boy's reaction. Rasiel knew that he himself was beautiful, and the only thing more beautiful than him was his reflection, of course – Bel was _perfect_ when he was like this. "Unless you want me to jump you again."

Bringing his knees to his chest, Bel felt as if he were about to throw up from how scared he was. He cried loudly, tears falling down his face; he just wanted to go home…! Please…!

Turning to look out of the window, Bel's distress grew further when he noticed where they were; he had travelled this route every day with Squalo in order to go in and out of town. But what drove him crazy was the fact that, within minutes, the car turned down another street, breaking the route that was oh-so-familiar to Bel – he had _never _been able to handle having his route changed, and now… it felt as if his parents were teasing him on purpose.

Screaming loudly, Bel threw himself against the door in order to try and break through it. When it wouldn't open due to the child-lock, he then launched himself at Rasiel when the other tried to grab him, catching his brother off-guard. Scratching and biting until he had managed to climb over the older male, he grabbed the door handle and pulled it.

"Belphegor!"

Throwing the door open, Bel tossed himself out of the moving car. His foot had been caught in the seatbelt, the car dragging him across the road at high speed. He screamed as he felt his shirt tearing and skin ripping off his body, but he eventually freed his foot and, within seconds, was up and running to Squalo's house.

Bel had no idea how long he had run for; all he knew was that he soon found himself screaming for Squalo as he banged on the front door, looking over his shoulder as he watched that car he hated so much crawling down the road, as if to tell him that no matter where he went, they would still find him. "Squalo! Squalo! Help! Squalo!"

The door was thrown open within seconds, Squalo leaning down to pick him up. The man didn't waste any time in pulling the boy inside and slamming the door closed behind them; he knew what was happening, and he would _kill _to protect Bel.

"Go hide, and call the poli – Fuck." Squalo was expecting for a lot of things, but he hadn't expected for a car to drive through the window of the living room; what the fuck was _wrong _with these people?! Pulling Bel behind him, Squalo knew that he was outnumbered, and he had nothing he could use to defend himself with; he was going to have to fight with everything he had to protect Bel.

"Did you really think we would let him run back to you?" Willheim had stepped out of the car, the vehicle far enough inside the house that the doors opened without a problem. "My brother is on his way here. We were going to leave you alone, but because you keep getting in the way…"

Squalo stepped away, slowing backing Bel towards the kitchen. He held the boy's hand tight in one of his, the younger's other one holding the back of his shirt in a death grip. "…"

Willheim was quick to close the distance between he and Squalo, pulling a knife from his pocket. He slashed out at the younger adult, forcing Squalo to knock Bel over as he jumped back to avoid the blade. There was nothing the long-haired man could do; he had been separated from Bel, and if he were to charge in recklessly to use himself as a shield for the blond once more, it could turn out messy.

The boy's brother shot forward at this, grabbing Bel and dragging him to the other side of the room with a knife pressed against the younger's throat. Hissing into the other's ear, he said, "I never said you could leave, brother. Try and run away again, and I'll slit your throat then and there."

Bel cried loudly, his entire body quivering more violently than it ever had before; he had never been so scared, so overwhelmed by what was happening. He screamed as he watched the way Squalo tried to fight back, but with Willheim wielding a knife, it was only too easy to bring Squalo to his knees.

"What do we have here?"

Looking over his shoulder at the voice of his uncle, Bel whimpered; why couldn't they leave Squalo alone…?!

"S-stop…!" Trying to run to Squalo to see if the man was okay, Bel screamed as his uncle forced him to the ground. He knew something bad was going to happen when his leg was grabbed and stretched outright, and his suspicions were proved when a wave of agony shot through his body at the hammer that was repeatedly smashed down on his leg. "No! Stop! Stop!"

Wielding the hammer in a threatening manner, the newcomer sneered. "You'd rather me break something else instead? I agree; legs are valuable, but there is _so _much more I can have fun with."

Bel was held down by Rasiel, screaming louder than ever as the hammer made contact with his head, arms, chest, stomach and groin – whatever his uncle could hit, he did. It was agonising, but the worst of it was when Rasiel jammed his knife in his brother's stomach.

"He's so beautiful, covered in blood…" Licking his lips, Rasiel watched as his uncle joined Willheim over with Squalo. He was so absorbed in everything he could see, he barely took notice of Bel slowly dragging himself through the shattered window, cuts and gashes adding to his new collection of wounds as he somehow found the strength to stagger back out onto the street and around the corner; hopefully, they wouldn't follow him to Dino's this time.

The pain was unbearable, but the adrenaline, the _need _to get away, to get help for Squalo pushed him to keep going. He could hardly stand upright, his leg not cooperating with him properly, but he had to keep going; Squalo would do the same for him.

By the time Bel finally made it up Dino's walkway and onto the porch, he wasn't conscious of the large trail of blood he had left behind, and when he would wake up in hospital the next day, he wouldn't remember coming here; all he would remember was what had occurred inside his home, the things that had been done to him and Squalo – and it would haunt him for the rest of his life.


	18. Chapter 18

When Bel came to the next afternoon, it took him a while to gather his bearings; the white that seemed to be engulfing him was overwhelming, and the beeping of the machines next to him were driving him crazy. But what bothered him the most was how _numb _he felt as memories played through his mind. He knew that he should be feeling _something _towards everything that happened, and yet…

Bel wondered if what he was remembering was even _real_.

The boy wasn't sure how long he had laid in bed for, staring up at the roof; all he knew was that when the women in white coats kept coming in to mess with the machines and ask him questions he could barely comprehend, he wished they would just die; he only wanted to be left alone – not bothered by strangers.

And then, an undeterminable amount of time later, Dino came to visit, his skylark student with him. Bel didn't say a word; he simply reached out and held the man's index finger as he stared out of the window across from him.

"How do you feel, Bel?" Wishing he could explain to the nurses who continued to try and drape the boy's blanket over him that Bel kept kicking it off because it was too heavy for him, he instead let it go; he would just have to bring one of the boy's blankets from home.

Bel didn't reply; he tugged at one of the IV cords that had gotten in the way when he tried to roll over.

"Don't do that, Bel." Speaking as gently as he could, Dino wished he knew what to do – but how could he do anything when he was distraught over his best friend unconscious in another hospital room, too…? "They're there to help you."

"…"

Almost afraid of touching Bel lest his break the boy into unrepairable pieces, Dino instead let his eyes wander over the younger's body. The bandage around Bel's head had been changed not long ago, but even so, there were still specks of blood seeping through. His left arm was in a cast and sling, and his leg also had plaster holding it in place. Dino could see bandages wound tight around the skinny body, and he didn't want to know what was beneath them – not when he had found Bel on his doorstep, covered in head to toe in his own blood.

"The police are going to help you, Bel. They know what your family did to you and Squalo; one of the officers said I could go to court and get emergency custody of you. Would you like that? We'll try and get you back to Squalo as soon as we can."

Turning his head at Squalo's name, Belphegor made a soft sound. He didn't say anything; he just let a few tears roll out from beneath his bangs and onto the pillow.

"Bel…" Looking over his shoulder as the door opened, Dino fought back tears as he realised Hayato was also skipping school in order to visit, something he hadn't expected for the silver-haired teen to do; never before had Hayato put anyone else before Tsuna. "Hayato, what are you doing here?"

Shrugging, Hayato looked to the side. "I heard about what happened… I haven't told Tenth or the baseball idiot yet… They'll stress… How is he?"

"He's stable." Watching as Hayato closed the distance between them in order to climb onto the bed next to Belphegor, Dino stood up; the two would probably want some privacy, and as long as there was someone here to take care of the boy, he would take Kyouya back home where the other was more comfortable.

"Hey, Bel…" Leaning down, Hayato kissed his boyfriend gently. He wasn't surprised when the other didn't kiss back, having seen the abuse for himself; it would probably take a while before the blond trusted anyone again. "Are you okay?"

It took a little while for Bel to slowly roll over and snuggle in against Hayato, but when he did so, he noticed that Kyouya and Dino were leaving. With a soft whimper, he slowly extended his hand towards the door, making grasping motions; why was Dino leaving him…?

"It's okay."

Looking back at Hayato when the other started to caress his cheek, Bel allowed his tears to fall. He couldn't feel much pain right now – most likely because of how heavily he had been drugged with morphine – but what he _could _feel was the gentle touchHayato had _never _graced him with before. Closing his eyes, the boy finally gave in to the sleep that had been trying to creep up on him since his awakening.

Hayato didn't mind Bel falling asleep on him; he just laid with the boy, listening to the whimpers the blond made in his sleep, wishing the trembling he could feel against his body would stop.

It was sickening what had been done to Bel, and it made Hayato regret every little thing he had ever done to the boy; Bel had only ever wanted love and affection, and hadn't done _anything _to deserve this.

_**~~XX~~**_

As Bel stared out of the hospital window that night, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Squalo. No one had said anything about the man to him, and he was worried; was Squalo okay…?

But then, Bel couldn't help but think that perhaps… he had done the wrong thing. He had ran away and left Squalo behind to deal with it all by himself – Squalo would _never _have abandoned _him…! _He had run… And he hadn't even _tried _to help… He had led his parents to the man, and…

And if Squalo was dead, it was all his fault.

For the first time since he had been awake today, Bel let tears slide down his cheeks. Not from the pain; not from the memories – but from the realisation that he was a terrible person, and he didn't deserve someone as kind and gentle as Squalo.

Whatever had happened to Squalo last night was all because he was just a selfish little boy; a selfish little boy who would abandon the one he loved most when things got rough.

Bel didn't deserve Squalo's love; he realised then that he instead deserved everything his family had ever done to him, and how stupid he had been to think that maybe… just maybe… he had instead deserved Squalo's guardianship and the comfort he had lived in.

His tears coming harder, Bel grasped the pillow tight, his loud sobs eventually filling the room. He shouldn't have run; he should have just let Rasiel kill him, and then maybe Squalo would be happier in never having to deal with him again.


	19. Chapter 19

It had taken weeks for Bel to be let out of the hospital, his body badly wounded. His arm was still broken, and halfway through his fractured leg healing, the nurses had been forced to re-break it so that it would set properly. His ribs had also been fractured, one of his lungs pierced from the fragments. The stitches in his head had been removed, the head trauma having been dealt with. All that was left was for the last of his injuries to finally heal. Dino had taken him home, Squalo still in hospital and far from in the condition to care for the boy.

"When we get inside, you can lay down on the couch and watch TV for an hour, okay?" Having parked the car in the driveway, Dino was kneeling by the passenger side as he unbuckled his charge from the seatbelt. "Kyouya is here with me; he's going to be here for a while until his uncle comes back from China."

Bel didn't say anything; he just hissed in pain as Dino's hands grabbed him and pulled him out of the car. He closed his eyes as he was carried inside, unable to walk by himself; his leg was still in a cast, and he didn't know how long it would be before he could have it taken off.

Kicking the car door closed behind him, Dino sighed as he made his way inside. "I'm sure Squalo will be able to look after you again soon. Until then, you can stay here with me."

"…"

It had been rare to hear Bel talk since the attack; he had mostly stared in silence during his stay in the hospital, unable to find the motivation to talk; all he had really done was cry. As much as Dino didn't want to think about it, he had a feeling that Bel wouldn't be much better here – at least, not until he got Squalo back.

Finally standing by the couch, Dino was tender as he laid Bel down onto it. He waited until he was sure the boy was comfortable before he grabbed the light blankets he had draped on the back of it earlier, holding them out so that his charge could see. "Ready, Bel?" Trying his best to avoid any sore spots, the man had never been so gentle with Bel; he just wanted the younger to be okay.

Once Bel was tucked in on the couch, Dino passed him the TV remote, knowing how used his charge was to watching TV for an hour after coming home; he didn't want to try and change the boy's routine now of all times, because it would only stress the smaller blond out more than he already was – and that was the _last _thing he wanted if Bel were to try and recover. "You can watch whatever you want, okay? You've got an hour. Do you want me to put a DVD on for you?"

Shaking his head, Bel slowly sifted through the channels to see what was on. He tensed and curled in on himself as he heard his classmate talk from the other couch, the skylark as disliking as ever.

"Why are you letting him choose what _we _watch?" Kyouya glared at their teacher after moving to stand by the couch. He sneered as he noticed the anime Bel had let play, knowing the other would choose something childish and unentertaining – that was the kind of person Bel was, he knew.

"Because Bel needs to unwind so that he can relax a bit; Squalo and I have always let him watch TV for an hour so he can do so." Dino hoped he had explained things well enough to get Kyouya to leave the smaller blond alone, but instead his eyes widened as he watched his student snatch the remote from Bel. Grabbing it from Kyouya and holding it himself; he didn't want to have to reprimand the skylark, but he also wasn't going to let anyone bully the younger blond in this condition, either. "Kyouya, I said Bel can choose the program for an hour. You can have the TV when he goes to sleep, and that'll probably be before he even finishes his hour."

Bel tried hard to block out their conversation, fear starting to consume him again. He fought back tears, glad when the other two soon decided to go into the kitchen to start lunch; it meant he would be alone, and he wouldn't have to be scared of being hurt again.

Accepting the remote that was handed back to him, Bel sent a frightened look to Kyouya when his classmate glared at him.

"We'll be in the kitchen, Bel." Dino smiled at his charge, hoping to erase some of the boy's stress; it broke his heart to see the younger like this. "Call out if you need anything or you're feeling sore, okay?"

Bel nodded, tugging his blanket up to his chin. He was very disconcerted, and he didn't quite understand what was happening; all he knew was that he wanted to go back to Squalo, even if the man hated him and didn't want him anymore – even if Squalo had _never _wanted him in the first place.

Was it so bad that… Bel was just so desperate for love and acceptance, he was willing to go back to the person he had almost gotten killed because of his selfishness…?

Pulling his blanket over his head, Bel cried himself back to sleep.

_**~~XX~~**_

When dinner rolled around that night, Bel's friends had come over to see him and make sure that he was okay. The boy wasn't eating properly, only taking very small nibbles and then refusing to eat anything else for a few minutes. When it soon became clear that Bel _couldn't _eat properly, they all stopped trying to feed him; it wouldn't do to make him sick, after all.

The blond was quiet, not saying anything and instead choosing to listen to what the others were talking about. It wasn't until Dino gave him another dose of morphine for the pain did he finally say anything to his friends.

Tugging at Hayato's sleeve, the silver-haired male looked down at Bel. The boy's head was resting on his lap, so Hayato didn't hesitate to ghost his fingertips through golden locks. "What's up?"

"Sleepy…" Nestling further into the younger's stomach, Bel sighed. "Wanna sleep…"

Hayato nodded, looking to Dino. The man understood, not needing to be told the problem; he stood and picked Bel up, carrying him into his bedroom. Laying the boy in his bed, he tucked him in tight before he looked at the three teens standing in the doorway.

"You guys can stay with him if you want; I'll make beds up for you now." Dino was glad when they all nodded, knowing that Bel needed their support if he were to recover from everything that had happened.

Bel watched as Dino left the room. His eyes wandered over to Hayato, seeing the silver-haired male approaching his bed. He moved over to let the teen onto the mattress, albeit tensely. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, he whispered, "Hayato-kun… I don't… want… to do stuff…"

"I know you don't…" Putting his hand on Bel's cheek, Hayato kissed his boyfriend gently. He caressed the soft cheek beneath his palm, waiting for Bel to calm down; he understood that he may never get sexual acts out of Bel again, and strangely enough, he was _okay _with that. "We don't ever have to do anything like that ever again if you don't want to."

Letting out a soft sniff as a tear rolled down onto his pillow, Bel cuddled up against Hayato. He listened to the soft whispers his boyfriend said, tried his best to relax into the warm palm he was so familiar with, but even then, he still found himself slipping into nightmares and restless sleep.

No matter how hard he tried, the boy was kept awake for most of the night by nightmares he wished he had no reason to have.


	20. Chapter 20

Within the weeks that had passed by, Bel had continued to stay with Dino, Squalo still not yet ready to care for him himself. The boy's wounds had mostly healed, but his leg was still in a cast, leaving him bound to a wheelchair when leaving the house. Dino had taken him back to school once his depression had lessened, glad to hear the boy talking again; hopefully it meant that the younger was starting to bounce back like he usually did. The adult wasn't sure, but he thought Bel was doing better now that he had been given a pet mink to keep him company.

Now, while Dino hurried around his home in order to get ready to bring Squalo home from the hospital, Bel lay on the couch next to Kyouya, his head tilting slightly as he followed his guardian's movements intently, much like a cat stalking its prey.

"What are you doing?"

Bel cocked his head at Kyouya's voice, blinking as Dino fell flat on his face. He hugged his new pet tighter, fixated on his fellow blond's movements; the other was hurrying about rather erratically, and like most things that seemed to move quickly, Bel's attention was focused solely on it.

"Ah, sorry, Kyouya..." Rubbing his head, Dino frowned. "Hayato was meant to be here ten minutes ago to stay with Bel, and I... kind of forgot to get myself ready while I waited for him... Squalo's going to be so angry at me..."

"Is he getting out of the hospital today?" At Kyouya's words, Bel's attention divided; was Squalo finally coming back for him…?

"Yeah; the longer I keep him waiting, the more he's going to yell at me." Picking himself up from the ground, Dino hurried over to the window to look for Hayato. It seemed that in his stress, he was clumsier than usual, falling over again within seconds.

Bel couldn't help but feel a mixture of emotion sit inside of him at these words, but he wasn't entirely sure of what he was feeling; it felt as if everything he was feeling was so contradictory, it was cancelling out his emotions.

The boy didn't want to listen as Kyouya offered to watch him until Hayato arrived; all he could think about was seeing Squalo again. How was the man going to be after everything that had happened…?

Deciding to just lay down on the couch and wait for Hayato to arrive, Bel instead distracted himself by stroking his pet's long, bushy tail. He had always wanted a mink for as long as he could remember, and though he would have enjoyed even a puppy or kitten, Squalo had never gotten him a pet – now, he finally had something he had wanted a lot, and he was happy.

"Mink…" Rubbing his cheek against the animal's head, Bel dragged his fingers through the silky white fur. "Mink is so cute…"

Lifting the mink into the air, Bel put it onto the back of the couch. He giggled when it jumped back down and laid on his stomach with its tail flicking in the air, their gaze meeting as best it could since Bel's violet orbs were obscured like always.

Kyouya ignored the older male, seated on the other side of the room with a novel open on his lap. He didn't wait long before Hayato stepped into the house, the silver-haired male immediately moving to Bel's side. When he was close enough, the youngest leant down and kissed his boyfriend, glad that Bel was slowly starting to kiss back again; it had taken a long time to gain the blond's trust once more, but Hayato understood; Bel had every reason to be fearful and distrusting of everyone around him.

"I got something for you, Bel." Dropping his bag onto the ground, Hayato unzipped it before reaching in. His hands soon resurfaced with a box, showing his boyfriend the new jigsaw puzzle he had bought today to keep Bel occupied. "I got a new puzzle for us to do together. That'll keep you amused for a while."

"…" Bel flinched as familiar hands grabbed him and helped him off the couch, moving him to sit on the floor instead. He watched the younger male open the box and tip the pieces onto the ground, immediately reaching out to take the first piece he saw.

"Here. Don't strain your arm, though." Letting Bel work almost independently on the puzzle, Hayato put together pieces every now and then; he mostly supervised, not wanting for Bel to hurt his arm once more by over-exerting himself.

Bel, however, was just glad that he was off the couch again and being given something to do instead of lying there all day every day watching TV; as much as he enjoyed watching some of his favourite anime series once more, it got boring after a while; he liked being able to get up and do other things as well. "Hayato-kun? I think Squ is coming back."

"Yeah, he is." Sliding two puzzle pieces he had just put together towards Bel, Hayato glanced at the other. "Dino said his head was hit very hard, so he may not be ready to go back to his own home yet."

Reaching up to touch his own head lightly, Bel frowned; memories were flooding his mind once more, and it made the boy anxious. "…Is… Squ… mad at me…?"

"Why would he be mad at you, Bel?" Shaking his head, Hayato sighed.

"…I ran away…" Letting a single tear slide down his cheek, Bel pulled his knees to his chest. "…I left him there… because I… was really scared…"

"You can be so fucking stupid at times. You know that, right?"

Flinching, Bel hesitated to look at the younger; why was Hayato being mean to him again…? "…"

"You did _exactly _what Squalo wanted you to do." Moving to sit next to Bel, the silver-haired male wrapped an arm around thin shoulders. "He didn't want you where you weren't safe; if someone was trying to hurt you, he would _want _you to run and leave him to deal with it. Because he really _loves _you, Bel. He would do _anything _to keep you safe. So if you feel like you've betrayed him, or you did the wrong thing… _Stop_. You did _everything _right, and both of you are still alive because of it."

Lifting his sleeve to his eyes, Bel tried hard to stop his tears; he sincerely hoped Hayato wasn't lying to him, because he so desperately wanted to believe that his boyfriend was right - he just wanted Squalo to never stop loving him.

"I love you, Hayato-kun…"

Hayato flinched at this words, having never heard them from the blond before – hell, he had never heard them from _anyone_. Why was he… hearing them from Bel…? The boy he had done nothing but treat like shit up until now…?

Looking to the ground, Hayato swallowed a thick lump in his throat. "…Yeah…"

Forgetting his puzzle, Bel moved to curl up on Hayato's lap for a while. He was so glad that his boyfriend was still here with him, and was _much _nicer than he used to be; he really liked this Hayato, and he hoped _this _Hayato would stay all the time now.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Dino arrived back at his home a bit over an hour later with Squalo in tow, Bel couldn't help but try and get to his feet to close the distance between he and his guardian; he had never thought he would be so glad to see the long-haired man again.

"Squalo's head really got hit hard, so he's going to stay with me for a few days so I can make sure he'll be okay on his own again." Dino's eyes wandered over the three teenagers in his living room, knowing that Kyouya would be the only one with a problem – but no matter how Kyouya felt about this, he wasn't going to let the younger drive away his best friend, because he wasn't going to abandon Squalo for _anyone_.

"Squa..." Extending his good arm, Bel kept trying to stand, fidgeting continuously until Squalo approached him and picked him up. He made soft noises of contentment as he snuggled in close, just glad that the man had finally come back for him; he had been so scared that night, afraid that he would never see Squalo again; it was comforting for him to be back in his favourite person's arms after so long.

Hayato watched as Kyouya left the room, not surprised that Dino had chased after him; the skylark certainly had his teacher whipped, that was for sure.

"Fuck, I missed you, brat." Squalo rested his chin on top of Bel's head, moving to sit on the couch next to Hayato. He had his left arm wrapped tightly around a thin waist, his right hand caressing golden locks in affection. "Are you okay? Did those fucks do anything else to you?"

Shaking his head, Bel snuggled in closer. Dropping his head against a strong shoulder, Bel sighed in contentment; so Hayato _had _told the truth after all…

And then, when a sudden sensation brushed against his hip that Bel didn't recognize…

Looking down to see what had touched him, Bel's eyes widened and a scream tore itself from his throat. There, clear as day… was a bandaged stump where Squalo's left hand _used _to be.

And Bel knew that it was _his _fault it was gone.


	21. Chapter 21

It had become clear that Squalo and Bel weren't safe anymore; even months after what had happened, while Bel's parents and brother had been apprehended by the police, his uncle was still out there, and held no remorse for the things he was putting the younger two through – it didn't take a genius to work out why their home had been trashed several times and almost set alight, after all.

Squalo was no fool; he knew full well that if they were to continue staying with Dino, they would only put the blond in danger, too. Because of that, no matter how much he knew Bel would protest and hate it, he was taking the boy away until it was safe for them to come back.

"Here are the keys."

Bel looked up at the soft clanging of house keys, hiding behind Squalo with one hand gripping tight the back of the man's shirt. He didn't quite understand why Squalo was taking him away from Namimori and to another town instead; why couldn't they stay here anymore? He liked it here, and he didn't want to leave.

"Squ…" Tugging at his guardian's sleeve, Bel whined softly. "Where are we going…?"

"To the Bucking Horse's old vacation home." Leaning down to pick Bel up, Squalo held his kid close. "I don't know how long we're going to be there for."

"I don't wanna go…" Wrapping his arms around Squalo's neck, Bel started to shake. "Don't want to…"

"Yeah, I don't either, but we have to, Bel."

Dino backed up at the tell-tale signs of a temper tantrum beginning; he knew that neither himself nor Squalo was in the mood to deal with this, but they had to be patient; Bel had every reason to act out.

"Bel…" Squalo, who was quite simply too tired to deal with this, put the boy back down on the ground. Shaking his head, he waved at Dino before turning around and walking back to his car. He ignored his charge yelling at him, instead unlocking the vehicle and getting into the driver's seat. He didn't hesitate to put the keys in the ignition and start it, and by now he noticed that Bel seemed wary in continuing his temper tantrum – Bel wasn't stupid; he was testing the waters to see what he could get away with before Squalo drove off without him.

Waving at the boy, Squalo put the car in reverse and left the driveway. He saw the panic on his charge's face, but he wasn't done yet; throwing the gearstick into first gear, he started driving down the road, gradually speeding up until he noticed Bel was chasing him, screaming for him to stop.

With a sigh, the man hit the brakes and stopped, waiting until Bel had caught up and gotten into the car before he started driving again. "You finished throwing tantrums, brat?"

Crossing his arms against his chest, Bel huffed, glaring at the dashboard. "…"

"Whatever…" Hitting the accelerator with more force than he had intended, Squalo winced as he over-revved the car. Shifting into a higher gear, he couldn't help but let himself become exhausted; he was trying his best to look after Bel, but the boy wasn't making it easy for him. He knew Bel wanted to stay here – and he did, too! – but if they were to do that, it could be their end.

No… Squalo _had _to take Bel away until they were safe, because he would _never _forgive himself if anything more were to happen to _his _kid.

_**~~XX~~**_

"I don't like this town…"

Squalo glanced over at Bel, finding the boy fumbling with the juice box he had been given a while ago. He had been driving for hours now, having only just arrived at the town where Dino's old family vacation home was located. He hadn't been there before, having not known Dino well enough during the period the blond's father was still alive, and he was quite curious to see what they would be staying in; if it were anything like Dino's old home in Italy, it would be quite luxurious. "Why?"

Shrugging, Bel dropped his head against the window, fighting to keep his eyelids open; he was just so tired, but he hadn't been able to sleep with the pelting rain echoing loudly in his ears. "It's a stupid town…"

Squalo himself felt as if he could nod off any minute now; he hoped they were almost there… "Yeah…? You haven't been here before; you can't judge shit."

"I don't want to judge shit, Squ… That's gross…"

Sighing, Squalo shook his head; he would just have to hope that it wouldn't take long to get there, and that there would be rooms already set up for them so that they could go straight to sleep. "You're tired; go to sleep, Bel. You've already missed your nap."

"Because _Squ _wouldn't _let _me nap!" Kicking at the dashboard, Bel made an agitated sound. "Squ just shoved me in his car and wouldn't tell me where we were going!"

Unable to hold back his own temper, Squalo hit the accelerator without need; uncaring as his car flew up behind the one in front of him, he turned to glare at Bel. "What was wrong with sleeping in the fucking car?! You could have taken your fucking nap ages ago!"

"It's _storming_!" Kicking the dashboard again, Bel then threw his juice box against the windshield. "I can't _sleep _when it's loud!"

"You know damn fucking well that I can't always work around your fucking routine! I wouldn't have stopped you from napping if I had a choice because you piss me off when you're like this! You could have – Stop kicking my fucking car, you little shit!"

With how slippery the roads were, and how erratic Squalo was starting to drive, it was no surprise he soon slid out of control due to his current lack of proper control and high speed. Unable to correct the vehicle, it slid to the wrong side of the intersection where the passenger side slammed into another car stopped at a red light.

Squalo took a deep breath before he looked at Bel, finding that the boy had gone very pale, his body trembling as he stared straight ahead, clearly frightened by what had happened. Reaching out, he put his hand on Bel's. "You alright, brat?"

Bel licked his lips as he turned to look at the man, but he didn't speak; he just continued to shake in his seat.

Carefully pulling his car off the road and to where it was safe, Squalo got out to assess the damage to his vehicle as he waited for the other driver to follow him. He knew he shouldn't have taken things out on Bel like that, but the boy _really _had to understand that Squalo was only trying to do the right thing and keep them safe, no matter how much the blond hated it.

_**~~XX~~**_

Bel had eventually calmed down from the earlier incident once Squalo had taken him out for lunch. He had still been shaky, and after getting out of the car, it had taken a lot to coax him to get back in it; he had been scared of Squalo colliding with another car, because as soon as he saw himself heading straight for the one his guardian had hit, he thought he had been about to die.

But now, as Squalo turned down the long driveway that would bring them to Dino's vacation house, Bel couldn't help but sigh; why couldn't he just go back home…?

"I don't want to be here, Squ…" Pulling at the door handle, Bel whimpered as it wouldn't open; he hated how his guardian had had child locks installed in the passenger side door to stop him from opening it and getting out of a moving car. "I want to go home…!"

"Yeah, I know." Wishing he could turn the car around and go back home, Squalo sent his charge a pitiful look. "I want to, as well. But we can't; not until… Until it's safe."

"Safe…?"

The long-haired man nodded. He didn't want to have to tell Bel everything that had happened, but…

If it would help Bel stop fretting, Squalo would tell him everything he had been hiding.

"Your uncle's still out there, and he's causing too much trouble. If we stay home, he'll hurt you again. He's not going to stop at anything."

"…"

"I don't want you to be hurt more than you already have been, Bel." Sending his kid a serious look, Squalo shook his head. "If taking you away is what will keep you safe, then I will do that, no matter how much you hate it."

"Squ…" Looking at his lap, Bel slipped his hand beneath his bangs in order to rub at his eyes; he didn't deserve Squalo. "…"

"When we get inside, you can go take your nap. I'll find a room for you." Slowing the car down now that he was ever closer to the mansion itself, Squalo couldn't help but hope that Bel would adjust quickly; he wasn't sure he would be able to deal with the boy's troubles for much longer in his current state – if he didn't get enough rest soon, he was going to snap on the blond.

"I wanna sleep with Squ-Squ…" Not understanding why he was all of a sudden being made to sleep apart from his guardian, Bel tensed up; he was always allowed to sleep with the man at home…!

"Not here, Bel. I'm tired, too." Fighting back a yawn as if to prove his point, Squalo continued on. "I need a bit of alone time for a while."

"Why?" Flinching when the car came to a stop, Bel felt a surge of panic wash through him; he didn't want to _be _here!

"Because I want to actually _sleep._" Pulling the handbrake up, Squalo turned the car off. He opened the door and got out, moving to the passenger side door to open it for Bel. "Come on, brat. Let's get inside before we get soaked by the rain."

Bel let out a loud scream when Squalo grabbed his arm. Recoiling from the touch, he moved as far back as his seatbelt would allow; why couldn't Squalo _understand?! _"I don't _want _to get out! I want to go _home!_"

Throwing his arms up in the air in defeat, it took all of Squalo's willpower to keep himself from screaming at the blond. Instead, he yelled, "Stay the fuck in here, then! See how much I care!" before kicking the car door closed and stomping over to the front door of the mansion. He unlocked it with more force than was necessary before stepping inside and slamming it shut behind him. "Stupid brat…"

Locking the door behind him, Squalo went to find the servants Dino had told him were still working at the mansion. He knew he shouldn't have locked Bel out in a storm, but damnit, he was just too fucking pissed off to be able to deal with the boy right now.

Squalo wasn't being heartless; there was still a car outside for Bel to take shelter in – all he was doing was getting himself some well-needed rest.

_**~~XX~~**_

Squalo didn't know how long he had been asleep for – just that when he was awoken by someone hitting him angrily with a pillow, he was about ready to murder whoever dared wake him back up.

Sitting up and finding Bel standing by the bed with a pillow in his hands, Squalo grit his teeth. He took no notice of the way Bel was shivering and soaked to the bone from water; he instead reached out and snatched the pillow off the boy.

"Get the fuck out, Bel." Shoving the younger backwards, Squalo hoped Bel would get the hint and go somewhere else; was it so bad that he _needed _to _fucking_ _sleep? _"Go piss someone else off for a change."

Bel let a loud sob escape his lips as tears started rolling down his cheeks, mixing with the rain that still clung to his skin. "You locked me outside in a_ storm_!"

"Yeah, I fucking know!"

"I had to keep banging on the door until a _stranger _let me inside!" Throwing himself at Squalo, Bel balled his hands into fists, punching and kicking at the man. "I hate you!"

Grabbing Bel the shoulders, Squalo shook him violently for a few seconds before he slapped the younger across the face with the new prosthetic hand he had gotten a few weeks previous. "I hate you, too! I can't fucking _stand _you when you're acting like a baby! For fuck's sake; you're almost seventeen and still act like a damn toddler! It's so shameful, I'm embarrassed to be your fucking guardian!"

Squalo instantly regretted these words; Bel froze on the spot, staring at the man as if he almost couldn't believe what had been said. It seemed to take a while for the boy to truly swallow those words, because after what felt like an eternity of silence, he started bawling his eyes out.

Pulling himself free from Squalo's grip, Bel ran from the room, his loud footsteps quickly becoming quieter until they were soon non-existent. Squalo had never hated himself more than he did in this moment; in trying to protect Bel, he had only hurt the boy himself in the end.

Sitting up straight on his bed, Squalo pulled his phone from his pocket. Unlocking it and scrolling through his message thread with Dino, he tried to take reassurance from his friend's comfort that he wasn't acting this way towards Bel on purpose; it was the damage to his head he had suffered during the attack that night that was amplifying his moods to the point he was unable to stop himself from taking it all out on Bel.

But no matter how much Squalo wanted to blame his head injuries for his words and actions towards Bel, he knew he couldn't; he had been in control of himself all day today, and yet he hadn't stopped himself from _any _of this towards the boy he loved more than anything else in his life.

Bel would never know it, but he had saved Squalo's life by giving the man a purpose in life. But now, Squalo wouldn't be surprised if the boy really _did _hate him.

Pulling his knees to his chest, Squalo couldn't fight back his tears; he should have killed himself years ago and left Bel with Dino, because Dino would have been a _much _better guardian than _he _ever had been.


	22. Chapter 22

Within the days that had passed since Squalo had taken his anger out on Bel, the man had been heartbroken to see just how far the boy was going to avoid him; Bel hadn't been eating at all in fear of being cornered by his guardian, and if he were leaving his bedroom for whatever reason, he tiptoed across the floor and hid wherever he could at the first sign of someone approaching him. He had pulled his bed across the room to block the bedroom door from opening from the outside when he was in it, and no matter how Squalo tried to speak to him, the boy would just cover his ears and chant in a loud tone in order to block his voice out.

It devastated Squalo to see his charge acting like this, but no matter how hard he was trying to fix things, Bel was making it difficult.

Waking up that morning to a text on his phone, Squalo hesitated to grab it from beneath his pillow. He looked to see who was messaging him, frowning as he noticed Dino's name on the screen.

Opening the message, Squalo read, _Bel's uncle has been caught. Everything should calm down now hopefully. _

Glad that he finally had good news to tell Bel, Squalo got out of bed and moved to his charge's room. Knocking on the door, he wasn't sure if Bel was still in there or not; the bed had been moved back so that the blond could leave the room – but where would Bel go so early in the morning?

"Bel?" Poking his head into the room, Squalo became worried as he noticed that even his charge's pet mink was missing; where had Bel gone…?

Making his way downstairs, Squalo spoke to the first servant he found, a maid dusting one of the studies that looked as if it hadn't been used in years. "Have you seen my kid anywhere?"

The woman offered a smile as she nodded, holding her duster by her side. "I saw him go outside to play with his pet."

"Voi! You fucking idiot!" Clenching his hands together, it took all of Squalo's willpower to not hit the maid. "Bel's not allowed outside unless someone's watching him! He runs off otherwise!"

The woman held a shocked expression on her face, having not expected for such an outburst; she had simply told him where the boy had gone – it's not like she had booted him out of the house and locked him outside or anything! "…"

Running back upstairs to get his shoes, Squalo didn't hesitate to make his way outside. When he was standing on green grass still soggy from the previous rain, he called for Bel as loud as he could, but he knew deep down he wasn't going to get an answer. "Bel! Bel, come here! Bel!"

When only silence answered him, Squalo made his way further towards the wooded area he could see way out in the distance; he wouldn't be surprised if Bel had gone in there for whatever reason, and he could only hope that the blond hadn't gotten lost or encountered any snakes.

Squalo knew that if Bel _had _gotten lost, the boy wouldn't even realise it and would only wander further in; this meant that his charge could be anywhere in that forest. Hoping with all his being that Bel was just fine and was only playing with Mink, Squalo continued to call out as he ran to the trees, prepared to spend as long as he had to in there to find the boy.

Squalo couldn't lose Bel – not without apologising for what he had done to the younger that day.

_**~~XX~~**_

Squalo had no idea how long he had been wandering the woods for; all he knew was that it was raining heavily once again, and even the thick amount of trees wasn't enough to shelter him from the relentless downpour. Shuddering from the cold that was enveloping him, Squalo could only imagine how Bel was feeling right now; the boy was always cold, and in this situation he must be _freezing_.

"Bel!" Knowing that Bel should have responded by now, Squalo hoped that nothing had happened and the blond was not answering because he was still upset with him. "Bel, no more hiding! Come out!"

"Squ…"

Squalo froze at the pained whimper, trying to work out where it was coming from; Bel was around here somewhere, but he couldn't pick out what direction. "Where are you, brat?"

"…D-down here…" With a sob accompanying his voice, Bel fell silent once more.

Squalo had no idea where to go, but upon noticing that there seemed to be a ledge of some sort to his right, he decided to check there first. "Bel…?"

"Squ…"

Peering over the ledge, Squalo's heart stopped as he noticed that Bel's leg was trapped beneath a boulder, a blanket of dirt covering him head-to-toe. How had this happened? "Bel! What did you do?!" Jumping off the ledge, Squalo came closer to assess the damage.

Reaching up to wipe at his eyes, Bel shook his head. He sobbed again, his hand gripping tight to his pet's tail as the animal laid across his shoulders as if it could sense its owner's distress. "…"

Trying to roll the boulder off Bel's leg, Squalo winced as Bel screamed. As much of a headache as he was getting in this moment, he continued rolling it, seeing that itwas budging easily; had Bel been in too much shock to try and move it himself…?

And then, looking back at Bel, Squalo noticed the blood matted in golden locks, and that the dirt pile he was laying in seemed relatively fresh; had he been playing on the ledge and fallen as it gave way? "Did you hit your head, Bel?"

Bel nodded, his tears coming harder as he pulled his leg away now that Squalo had shifted the boulder. He didn't try and stand; he just sat there, staring up at Squalo. "…I fell off the edge... The rock hit my head when it came with me…"

Seeing that Bel was saturated with rain on top of everything else, Squalo shrugged his jacket off, wrapping it around the boy's thin body. Picking his kid up tenderly, he was sure to let the injured leg hang loosely in the air, careful not to hit it against anything else. He flinched when Mink jumped onto his shoulders next, having never liked the animal, but he didn't say anything; he had to get Bel back to the mansion and have a doctor come out to look at him.

"Why were you out here, Bel?" Looking down at the boy, Squalo was glad to see that Bel was slowly calming down; he would just have been relieved to have been freed from the boulder.

"…I was playing… with Mink…" Looking up at Squalo, Bel let a few more tears roll down his cheeks. "I… I jumped on the boulder, and… t-the ground fell…"

"You're safe now, brat." Feeling as if he could cry when Bel snuggled in close to him, Squalo shook his head; was Bel still upset with him…? Shifting his kid so that he was holding the blond in one arm, the long-haired man threaded his fingers through golden locks, lowering his hand to caress the boy's face with his thumb. "…"

It was silent as they walked, neither male saying anything for several minutes. Bel continued to shiver from the cold, comfortable against the man's chest. As happy as he was that Squalo had come to rescue him, he couldn't say that he wasn't still upset with his guardian; the man's words and actions those few days earlier were still haunting him.

With a sigh, Bel focused on his surroundings, trying to pretend he didn't feel as upset and out of place as he did right now.

_**~~XX~~**_

When Squalo finally got Bel back into the mansion, he took the boy to the infirmary after alerting the staff to his needs. Laying his charge down on the first bed he saw, he watched as one of the live-in nurses approached, and though he was glad she was here to help, the same couldn't be said for Bel.

"Squ-Squ…!" Bel immediately scooted backwards at her approach, looking up at Squalo with a helpless expression. Tensing as the stranger came close enough to lay her hand on his shoulder, Bel could have cried; why was this place so stressful…? "No…!"

"I'm sorry; he finds it very hard to see doctors." Leaning against the wall next to the bed, Squalo folded his arms against his chest. "A friend of mine is a nurse; he's the only one Bel is comfortable with."

"His leg does look like it's in bad shape." Looking at the blood clinging to shredded flesh, the woman held a sympathetic look in her eyes. "I can sedate him if that will help. It just inane very wise to leave that kind of injury untreated; any amount of complications could arise from it."

"Squ…"

Looking down at Bel, Squalo raised his eyebrow at the boy. "What is it?"

"I want Lussu…" Reaching up to rub at his eyes, Bel asked for the man who had always acted like a mother towards him. "Can you call him here…?"

"Bel, I doubt Lussuria is going to drive for hours just to look at your leg. It's not practical."

"Please…" Letting tears roll down his cheeks, Bel shook his head.

Sighing, Squalo nodded. "Fine. But I'm not promising anything. He might not be able to come."

"My leg hurts…" Hugging himself tight, Bel sniffed as he watched his guardian pull his phone from his pocket. He was silent as he listened to the man talk to the person on the other line, hoping that his nurse would come to see him; Lussuria had always been kind to him, and like Squalo, always wore gloves, so it didn't bother him whenever the man touched him to examine his body.

When Squalo ended the call, he couldn't help but soften his gaze as he looked at the younger. "Lussu is coming out to look at your leg, but it's going to take him a long time to get here. He said for you to take some painkillers and relax in the meantime." Turning to the doctor still standing by the bed, the man said, "Can you get him some painkillers and a glass of water?"

The woman nodded, heading further into the infirmary. When she came back, she couldn't help but smile as she saw the way Squalo had sat on the bed and Bel had curled up on his lap; it was heart-warming to see, especially considering the other staff had told her that the two had been at each other's throats from the moment they had arrived here.

"Here you go." Passing the cup and blister packet to the man, the doctor next farewelled the two, leaving them alone.

Squalo was silent as he helped Bel take the painkillers. He knew all too well that the younger struggled with tablets, so once he had finally coaxed his charge into swallowing them instead of just swishing them around in his mouth, he laid the boy down on the bed. Carefully stroking the younger's head, Squalo was conscious of all the blood and the potentially-nasty head wound beneath it; he didn't think that the boy was concussed, but he would leave that to Lussuria to decide when he got here.

"Try and stay awake, okay?" Lying next to Bel, Squalo allowed his charge to snuggle in against him. "You hit your head; if you're concussed, you can't sleep."

Bel was too tired to argue; painkillers always knocked him out, but if Squalo said to stay awake… Then he would do his best. "…"

Lying with Bel in order to make sure he stayed awake, Squalo continued to stroke the boy's head. With the younger resting so peacefully against him, he didn't need to hear it; he already knew that he had been forgiven for what he had done that day. Shedding silent tears, Squalo hoped Bel didn't notice them, but he knew, deep down, the boy had; Bel was sharp like that, and just because he didn't always mention his observations didn't mean he had missed them.

Bel just quite simply lacked the empathy skills to know what to say.

_**~~XX~~**_

As soon as Lussuria had arrived, he had tended immediately to Bel's leg and head. The boy wasn't concussed, and though his head had bled a lot, the wound hadn't been deep enough to warrant stitches; he had simply cleaned it out with a bit of disinfectant and wrapped a bandage around it to keep it from getting dirty again.

The boy's leg, however, wasn't in the best of shape; while the bone wasn't broken, the skin had been ripped apart, and the muscle was swollen. Lussuria had stitched the wound back up and promised to bring them anti-inflammatory medication to lower the swelling, knowing he had to be careful what he prescribed the blond due to his health.

Lussuria hadn't been able to stay for long; he had things he had to do, and had cancelled a few lesser appointments to tend to Bel; he really _did _love the boy, having always found him to be a cute, sweet little child.

And now, as Bel lay with his guardian up in the man's room, he could feel himself quickly dozing off; his leg had been numbed, and it was enough pain relief for his exhaustion to catch up to him.

"Bel?"

Humming at his name, Bel didn't open his eyes; he just nuzzled his nose against Squalo's chest as he made himself more comfortable.

"We're going to go back home after you have your nap." Rubbing his charge's back, Squalo was glad to see Bel's lips twitch upwards at these words. "The Bucking Horse says it's okay to come back now."

Humming once more, Bel murmured something unintelligible as oblivion begun creeping up on him.

Squalo smiled, wrapping his arm around the other's thin waist and pulling him closer. Pressing his face against golden locks, he couldn't help but feel relaxed as well; he loved Bel so much, it was painful to think that he could have ruined their relationship because of his actions previously.

But what hurt the most was knowing that, for all the years he had had Bel, many times had passed where he had considered leaving the boy behind to grieve. He knew that his charge was overly attached to him, and that if anything were to ever happen to Squalo, Bel wouldn't know what to do or how to cope.

Squalo was all Bel had _ever _had, and how could he have been so _selfish _to want to leave behind the only thing that had given him meaning and purpose to his life? He had to stay, if not for himself, but for the boy who would never recover if he were to one day find his guardian cold on the ground with slit wrists.


	23. Chapter 23

Shortly after Bel's seventeenth birthday, he had been told that Squalo had begun dating for the first time. He had never met the woman before, but he knew that Squalo had been dating her for about a month now. He liked that his guardian never brought her to their home; it meant that he didn't have to stress over things he didn't want to think about.

But today, when Squalo told his charge that his girlfriend would be coming around for dinner that night, Bel couldn't help but get upset; why couldn't Squalo just keep visiting _her _instead?

Sitting in Squalo's office once school had finished, Bel played one of his games as he waited for the man to complete what he was doing. He had gotten used to spending an extra hour or two in the office once school had ended; as long as Squalo warned him a few days in advance, he was okay with it.

"Brat."

Looking up from his game, Bel swung his legs back and forth. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're going to be okay tonight?" Having been thinking all day about how Bel was upset about tonight's event, Squalo was a little worried for the boy; while Bel had learnt to adjust to Squalo's friends entering their home, would it be harder for him knowing that this was a _girlfriend_?

Putting his game down on his desk, Bel wrapped his arms around himself. "…"

"Brat?" Pushing away the laptop he had been answering emails on, Squalo leant across the desk in order to touch his fingers against his charge's hand.

"…" Looking up from his lap, Bel fixed his guardian with a confused look that didn't quite fit in with his current state of emotions. "Can't you keep going to her house? That's _our _home…"

"It doesn't work like that, Bel." Sighing, the man dragged his prosthetic hand through his long locks. "Hayato comes to our house, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but that's different; you don't mind him coming over. But I don't like _her_ coming over. So that's why you should go to hers instead."

"Bel, _no_." Knowing it wasn't Bel's fault he felt he was entitled to dictate who Squalo brought home, the vice principal tried his best not to get annoyed. "I just said; it doesn't work like that. Even if I didn't like Hayato coming over, I would still let him do so because he's your boyfriend and you want him to visit. The same goes for me and my girlfriend; just because you don't like it doesn't mean you can decide what happens."

"But I don't _like_ her!" Bel found that it wasn't so much the fact that a stranger would be coming to his home that was upsetting him the most; it was the fact that, ever since they had been attacked, Squalo seemed to always lose his temper and not listen to what the boy was trying to tell him; Squalo would simply shrug everything off or yell at him, and Bel didn't understand why his guardian had _changed_.

"You don't _know _her, Bel." Clenching his hands, Squalo took a deep breath; he could feel the frustration coming on quicker than he had anticipated.

"I don't want to go home if _she's _going to be there!" Standing up, Bel grabbed his game and schoolbag. He slipped the console into the bag before slinging it over his shoulders, glaring at the man before he stomped to the office door.

"Where are you going?!" Raising his voice without meaning to, Squalo also got to his feet. "Get your ass back in here, Bel!"

"I wanna go home with someone else!" Kicking the door in his anger, Bel growled.

Marching over to the smaller male, Squalo ignored the way Bel backed up quickly at his approach. "You're not going somewhere else; you're coming home with me!"

"I don't want to!" Turning around to run, Bel fled down the school corridor, aware that Squalo was right behind him. "Go away, Squ! Go away!"

"Get your ass back in that fucking office _now_!" His eyes narrowed in anger, Squalo was tempted to smack the boy when he caught the younger; he hated that he found it almost impossible to be as patient with his charge as he used to be, and knowing that only made him angrier, subconsciously taking it out on the blond. "For fuck's sake, Bel! Don't run, you little shit!"

"Stop chasing me!" Looking over his shoulder, Bel turned a corner and ran into a warm body. He was knocked to the ground from the sudden halt, gasping as he realised that he couldn't get away from Squalo now.

"What are you two doing?"

Looking up to see that he had run into Dino, Bel jumped to his feet and hid behind his fellow blond. He peeked out from behind the man, ignoring the fact that Kyouya had been walking with the English teacher; he was too focused on the fact that Squalo was standing in front of him to wonder why Kyouya and Dino were together like this. "I don't want to come home tonight, but Squ is being a jerk and trying to make me!"

"He's just carrying on because my girlfriend will be there." Grinding his teeth, Squalo took a step forward to try and snatch a grip on the boy's clothing. "Get your ass out here now!"

"No!" Biting down on Dino's arm, Bel rocked a little. Pulling his mouth away from his teacher's arm, he looked up at the stronger blond. "I want to come home with you."

"I'm sorry, Bel, but Kyouya and I will be going out tonight." Patting Bel's head affectionately, Dino shook his own.

"Then I want to go to Hayato-kun's."

"Hayato, Tsuna and Takeshi are also very busy tonight." Not surprised at the agitated sound Bel made, Dino hated disappointing the boy; he knew that the younger was just acting out because he was upset by this sudden development in his life, but when Bel was upset like _this, _it was extremely hard to console him and usually led to temper tantrums and meltdowns.

"Then I will go to Mammon's instead." Determined in going anywhere but home, Bel stomped his foot on the ground when Dino told him that Mammon had a date with her boyfriend tonight, and that Lussuria would be out of town for a medical course. "Well, why can't you stay home so I can come with you?"

"Because Kyouya and I have already made our plans, and it's too late to cancel them."

"I want you to cancel them!" Biting the other blond again, Bel growled when Kyouya came closer to him. "Go away, Kyouya! I hate you!"

"Bel, come on. Settle down." Stepping to the side so that he could push Bel back towards Squalo, Dino frowned; it upset him to see that _both _of the younger males had been so badly affected by the attacks, and he wished he could do something to help them; while Bel had always thrown tantrums, he had generally been very easy to care for, but now he just a brat most of the time – Dino hoped that would settle down with love and therapy, but for now he could see why Squalo was finding it so difficult to care for the charge he loved immensely. "It's just Squalo's girlfriend; you don't have to _talk _to her or anything. She'll probably leave you alone, too."

Digging his feet into the ground to stop himself from being pushed back to Squalo, Bel twisted his upper body in order to wrap his arms around Dino. "I don't want to go home!"

"What the fuck is going on out here?"

The four turned around at the angry growl, coming face-to-face with the principal of the school, a man named Xanxus who was violent enough to send the youngest four home bloodied and bruised if they didn't stop right now.

Bel, however, had never quite understood the danger that radiated off Xanxus and greatly looked up to him; it wasn't surprising that he had unattached himself from Dino and instead wrapped his arms around the scarred man. Looking up into the other's red eyes, Bel cocked his head to the side. "Can I come to your house tonight?"

"Get off me, trash." Shoving at the boy, Xanxus felt no remorse as Bel fell to the ground. Ignoring the student, he then glared at Squalo. "Stupid shark trash; take your loud scum home."

"I've got shit I'm trying to get done, but instead the brat's making me chase him!" Not hesitating in yelling at the man he had known for years, Squalo stomped over to Bel's side. Reaching down, he grabbed his charge's shoulders and forced him to his feet. "Not my fault he -!"

"Take him _home _before I _kill _him, scum." Well aware of the intimidation he was displaying, Xanxus sneered at the defeated look he received.

"…" Snarling as he felt Bel pulling against his hold, Squalo couldn't help but force Bel over to the wall. He held the boy against it with his body weight, his hand raised in the air, ready to come crashing down against the boy's body when his charge let out a scream of fear.

"Squalo!" Dino rushed forward at this, pulling Squalo away. His heart broke as he watched Bel slide down the wall and into a sitting position, pulling his knees to his chest as he hugged them tight. "Squalo, what are you trying to do to him?!"

Squalo's mouth opened and closed wordlessly, his eyes displaying nothing but pain as he realised what he had just done – what he had been about to _do_. He had pinned his charge against a wall in a manner he _knew _would trigger the other's trauma, and on top of that… He would have slapped and punched and kicked his kid had Dino not stopped him…

And the worst part of it all was, Squalo knew _exactly _what he was doing, but he couldn't even _try _and stop himself from doing it.

"…" Shaking his head, Squalo reached out to pick up Bel's fallen schoolbag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he took a deep breath before he uttered, "C'mon… Let's go home, brat…"

Bel didn't move from his cowering position; not until Dino had gently coaxed him to his feet. He clung to the man's sleeve tight as they followed Squalo out of the school, and when they were standing in front of his guardian's car, he finally let his tears free. Crying heavily as the older blond helped him into the car, he couldn't help but tremble violently; what if they got home and Squalo hurt him again and no one was there to stop the man this time…?

"I'm sorry, Squ… " Keeping his head ducked, Bel stared wide-eyed at his lap, hoping that his pleading would be enough to spare him. "Please, I'm sorry… D-don't… Don't h-hurt me…"

Squalo sent a helpless look to Dino before he, too, got in the car. Shaking his head, he put the key in the ignition and started it, trying to ignore the near-incoherent whispers and cries the boy directed at him the entire drive home.

After the ten minutes it had taken to get back to their house, the first thing Bel did was run away from Squalo and into his bedroom, locking the door to keep his guardian out. Squalo couldn't lie and say those actions hurt him; they absolutely _devastated _him to know that _he _was the reason Bel seemed to be acting out like this almost every day now.

Following Bel's example and locking himself in his office with a bottle of wine, Squalo sat and drank until a text came through on his phone. Opening the message, he found it was from Dino.

'_Please go and talk to a doctor, Squalo. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for Bel; he doesn't need you always being angry at him.' _

Knowing that Dino had always tried talking him into seeing someone about his mental health – now more so than ever – Squalo couldn't agree to go through with it; he had his pride, and he didn't want to talk to some stranger about his problems who probably didn't even give a shit about them in the first place.

But hearing Bel crying in his bedroom… Maybe Squalo could suck his pride up for just once…

_**~~XX~~**_

When Bel emerged from his bedroom once night had fallen, he brought his homework with him. He had eventually cried himself to sleep, and he was frustrated with himself that he had disrupted his routine; now he had to try and adjust back into it again.

Not making a sound as he seated himself on the couch, he spread his textbooks on the coffee table, trying to catch up on his routine. He had almost been able to start relaxing, but then he heard Squalo talking to someone from the kitchen. Looking over the back of the couch, Bel frowned as he heard a female voice reply back to his guardian; so she was already here…

Closing his textbook, Bel got to his feet. He slowly approached the kitchen entrance, peeking around the side to find a black-haired woman sitting on one of the stools at the counter, her face heavy with makeup while her shirt was unbuttoned up the top and exposing a bit of her breasts. Bel could see that she was attractive, and he liked her bust very much, but he didn't like _her_; there was just something about her that he didn't trust.

"Can you go home now?" Leaning against the doorframe, Bel peeked up at the woman from beneath his bangs. He didn't realise how rude he was being in this moment; he just wanted to make his wishes known.

"Bel, you rude little shit." Waving a spatula towards the doorway, Squalo narrowed his eyes. "Be nice."

His eyes moving between the two adults warily, Bel soon hurried past the stranger in order to stand before Squalo. He was still upset with the other, but he could put it behind him for now; he would still rather Squalo than _her_. "I'm hungry. You were supposed to have finished dinner already, Squ."

"I've been busy." Turning his attention to the stove he was standing in front of, Squalo stirred the contents once more with the spatula.

"What is it?" Standing on his tiptoes to peer over the man's shoulder, Bel sighed when he saw their dinner. "But tonight is sushi night, Squ; not spaghetti night."

"Too bad; Haruna doesn't eat sushi." Pushing Bel away, Squalo moved closer to the stove. "You'll live without sushi for one night."

Sticking his bottom lip out, Bel made an agitated noise. "Why are you so _mean _all of a sudden?!"

"I'm not mean; I'm just getting sick of your shit." Pushing the younger away further, Squalo didn't react when Bel thumped his fists against his back. "Seriously. Fuck off, Bel. Hitting me isn't going to give you sushi."

"I hate you!" Stomping over to the counter, Bel swiped the bowls and cutlery onto the ground before leaving the kitchen, returning to the living room. He snatched one of his textbooks up from the coffee table as he tried to ignore the others, but when he heard the woman speak from the kitchen, he couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt deep within his chest.

"What a little brat he is." The woman – Haruna, Bel suspected from Squalo's earlier words – spoke in a tone of pure dislike, though the boy would struggle to place it until he was much older and more experienced. "You need to stop spoiling him; if he were my kid, I'd have beaten that attitude out of him years ago."

Bel waited to hear what Squalo defended him with, but when he only heard a grunt of agreement instead, he felt as if someone had just torn his heart out of his chest; why was… Squalo…?

Throwing his textbook onto the floor, Bel pulled his knees to his chest as he stared out of the window across from him, fighting back tears. He used to love life, but ever since his parents had come back, he had gradually begun to hate it more and more until now, all he wanted was to die.

_**~~XX~~**_

"Squ…?" Returning to the living room a few hours later, Bel shifted uncomfortably; he was standing in front of the couch, both Squalo and Haruna's gaze fixed on him. It was daunting enough to feel as if the man was looking at him in anger, and yet… _Her _gaze mixed in with it…

"What?" His voice soft like it used to be, Squalo felt impatient; he was trying to spend time with his girlfriend, and Bel just kept getting in the fucking way.

"…" Fumbling with his own hands, Bel looked to his feet. "…You know I always have my shower now, Squ…"

"And?" Narrowing his eyes, Squalo twitched his fingers; for fuck's sake…

"…Squ never forgets to tell me… And he always helps me with my shower…"

"Can't you do it yourself for once, Bel?" Threading his fingers through his long locks, Squalo let out an exasperated sigh.

Shaking his head, Bel continued staring at his feet. "…"

"Fine." Getting to his feet with the intention to help Bel with his shower, Squalo quickly changed his mind and sat back down when Haruna grabbed his hand and tugged him back.

"He's a big boy; he can have a shower by himself, Squalo." Haruna's voice was thick with disapproval, and though Squalo recognised it immediately, he said nothing; he just nodded before turning back to Bel.

"Have a shower by yourself, Bel."

Biting at his lip, Bel let tears of frustration roll down his cheeks as he stomped his foot against the floor. He couldn't seem to come up with any words, so all he could do was open and close his mouth wordlessly a few times before he stomped back to his bedroom. He didn't take the shower he had every night at this exact time; he simply crawled into his bed, and without even changing out of his school uniform and into pyjamas, cried himself to sleep.

Bel _really _hated life, and he didn't know how much more he would be able to take.


	24. Chapter 24

When Squalo came in to Bel's room the next morning to wake him up for school, all it took was one moan after being roused for the man to realise that the boy was sick. Putting his hand against the younger's forehead, Squalo bit his lip as he felt a high temperature.

"Shh…" Sitting on the edge of the bed, Squalo caressed his charge's arm when Bel moaned again. He should have suspected something was wrong when he hadn't had to get out of bed once to put the boy back to sleep through the night; Bel had always woken several times through the night in order to get up and play. "Lay down, Bel. I'll bring you some medicine in a few minutes. You can stay home from school today."

Bel mumbled something incomprehensible, curling into a ball. "…"

Squalo was quick to leave the room, and once he returned with a glass of water and some medicine, he helped the boy sit up and swallow them. Once the pills were gone, he laid Bel back down in bed. "Go back to sleep, Bel. It's okay."

Bel did as told, closing his eyes again when he felt his blankets being drawn up to his shoulders. He moaned again as he was tucked in tight, falling asleep quickly; though he hadn't woken up through the night for the first time in years, he was still exhausted from how ill he was feeling.

Squalo leant down in order to press a gentle kiss against Bel's temple. He patted a thin shoulder before he stood up, heading back out to the living room to greet his girlfriend; she had stayed the night, and was getting ready to go back to her own home.

"Can you stay here and look after Bel for me?" Sitting down on the couch, the man picked up the coffee he had left on the table earlier. "He's sick, and I have important shit I need to do at work."

"I'm sure he'll be fine by himself for a few hours, Squalo." Not even attempting to hide the fact that she was rolling her eyes, Haruna continued on. "Surely you haven't babied him enough to teach him how to take care of himself."

"He's _sick, _and he's not staying here by himself while he's unwell. The only other people who can look after him are all working as well."

"He's not a child; he's a teenager, and he needs to learn independency. Why you've let him get this far without independency is beyond me…"

"He _needs _me. I've already told you; he has autism."

"And he looks like he's high functioning; he's not hiding beneath a blanket mimicking fire alarm noises for hours. He's clearly got a social retardation, but he's not _completely _retarded. I'm sure he'll be fine by himself for a few hours."

"Don't call him a fucking retard…" Getting to his feet, Squalo moved to take his now-empty cup into the kitchen. "Fine, then. I'll leave him here. But if anything happens to him, I'm holding _you _accountable because you wouldn't watch him. It's not like you were doing anything today…"

"I've got better things to do with my day than encourage a kid into thinking he's a retard. I'm not watching the annoying little bastard; he did nothing but throw fits and then go sulking in his bedroom because of _you_; how do you expect _me _to have better results? I don't know why you've kept him for so long; it's not like he's _your _kid, so go give him to a family who actually _wants _him. I have no patience for kids like him, so make up your mind; it's him or me."

Gripping his cup tightly, Squalo bit down on his lip to keep himself from responding; he didn't trust himself to not fuck things up if he spoke.

Haruna followed him into the kitchen, grabbing the back of Squalo's shirt in order to halt him. "Are you _listening _to me, Squalo? When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it."

Squalo grew tense now, both from the trauma of his abusive childhood, and the anger that was bubbling up inside of him like a volcano ready to erupt. "…"

"Squalo, get _rid _of him for _both _our happiness. He'll do nothing but bring us _both _down. I don't care what you do with him; dump him somewhere or sell him into a trade – whatever! – just make sure he's gone within a few days."

"…"

Her demeanour suddenly changing, a sly smirk appeared on Haruna's face now. She pressed her smaller body up against Squalo's, sliding her hand down from his chest, over his hip, and to the front of his pants. She felt her boyfriend freeze under the contact, and her smirk widened. "You like that, huh? We haven't had sex yet; I think it's _long _overdue. How about a quick fuck before you go to work?"

Squalo reached out, grabbing Haruna as she tried to unclip his belt. Pushing her way, it took all of his willpower to keep himself from striking her – but he would _never _hit a woman; he would _never _become what his father had been. "I've told you not to touch me like this…"

"Why not?" Putting a flirty look on her face, Haruna continued on. "You're a guy; guys are perpetually horny. I mean; I've never been with a guy for a month and had pretty much _no _action. At least let me give you a blowjob before you go."

"I don't _want _a fucking blowjob…"

"You know, most people usually fuck by now." Disapproval once again seeping into her voice, Haruna crossed her arms against her chest. "Everyone else I've been with; we would have fucked plenty of times by now. So what's your problem?"

"None of your business. You'll get sex when I want to want give it to you. Keep pressuring me like this, and you'll just wait longer."

The woman sneered, but she knew that Squalo was serious about his threat; she knew when her boyfriend could and could not be walked over, and sex was one of the handful of things where he would not allow himself to be forced into it. "Fine. I'm going home. Let me know when you're horny."

Humming in response, Squalo stayed where he was until he heard the front door close. He didn't know why he was still dating the woman; she could never seem to handle it when things weren't going her way and was constantly pushing him around and treating him like shit, and the things she said about Bel to the man's face…

Squalo _really _didn't know why he stayed, but part of him believed it was because he didn't see a point in leaving her when she would probably be the only somewhat decent girlfriend he would be able to get – hell, probably the _only _girlfriend he would ever have.

Trying his best to suck it up and enjoy what he could from his new relationship, Squalo continued getting ready for work. He didn't like to leave Bel alone like this, but he didn't really have a choice; he had a lot he had to do at work, and he couldn't get anyone to look after him for the day.

Hopefully Bel would be able to pull through by himself for once.

_**~~XX~~**_

Having woken up around lunchtime, Bel had left his room to locate Squalo. However, upon finding that the long-haired man was nowhere to be found, he had curled up on the couch in a panic, too sick to leave the house to look for him. He had remained there for hours, vomiting and moaning as his head spun angrily and sleep would come and go. He had been glad to hear the front door unlock after what felt like an eternity, slowly lifting his head from the armrest of the couch; thank god Squalo was back…

"Squ…" Pushing himself into a sitting position, Bel then tried to get to his feet, only to collapse heavily on the floor. "Squ…!"

Bel looked up as he heard footsteps running to him. He murmured something incomprehensible as he felt himself being scooped up into strong arms, his thin body shivering from the impossible coldness that was engulfing him completely. "…"

"Why didn't you stay in bed, Bel?" Carrying the boy back to bed, Squalo soon tucked his charge in tight. "You're sick; you don't need to be moving around like this. Rest, and I'll call Lussu and ask him to come out and check on you."

Despite the fact that Squalo was laying thin blanket after thin blanket on top of him, Bel couldn't warm up; he was just so cold, it was driving him crazy. "Squ…!"

"It's okay, Bel." Laying down with his charge, Squalo held the boy close as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "It's okay. I won't leave you home alone again. It's okay."

Trying to get as much body heat from Squalo as he could, Bel listened to the sound of his teeth chattering; he couldn't remember the last time he had felt so sick, and he _hated _this.

_**~~XX~~**_

It had taken a while before Lussuria had been able to come out and check on Bel, but after spending some time with the boy he adored so much, he had been quick to pull Squalo to the side to talk to him in private.

"I know that you and Bel-chan both have a lot going on for you," Lussuria started, an anxious look on his face. "But you _have _to understand that Bel-chan is full of anxiety, and after everything that's happened… You _have _been taking care of him, haven't you?"

Glancing to the side and grunting, Squalo couldn't help but let his guiltiness show. "…"

Speaking in a softer tone, Lussuria placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "What have you been doing to him? You know you can tell me, hon; I won't get mad at you. I just want to try and help you and Bel-chan."

"…I just…" Frustrated with himself for things he wasn't even sure about, Squalo shrugged. "…I feel like everything is making me mad these days… And so when Bel acts out, I can't help but yell at him… I know he doesn't like it, but I can't stop myself…"

"And have you been hitting him, Squ-chan?" Not believing the younger when he received a shake of the head in response, Lussuria sighed. "I saw the bruise on his back, Squ-chan. I'm not mad at you; I understand. You had a very bad head injury; things like this are expected. I'm not going to lecture you because I know _you _know, but look; you _need _to talk about everything, Squ-chan, because I'm convinced that the fever Bel-chan is suffering is stress-induced, and the fact that you've suddenly changed the way you're treating him with no warning or explanation… It's extremely hard on him. And his anxiety will only get worse if he's living in an unpredictable environment; if he doesn't know when to expect the next yell or smack, it's only going to make him act out further, and that in turn will stress _you _further. It's a vicious cycle, and I'm sure you can see how it will play out."

Squalo nodded; if Bel were to get worse, then _Squalo _would get worse, increasing his charge's own acting out, and if that were to keep happening, then…

Squalo didn't want to know how he would deal with it.

"You know you have people you can trust to tell _anything _to, Squ-chan." Stepping closer to the smaller male, Lussuria offered a smile. "Dino already knows a great deal, doesn't he? If he's the only one you're comfortable talking to, please, by all means give him permission to speak to me about it on your behalf; I know you'll hate the thought of it, but medication will do you some good – perhaps it will be enough for you to finally talk to someone yourself."

"I don't _want _stupid medication." Folding his arms against his chest, Squalo sent a defiant glare to the ground.

"Bel-chan doesn't like his medication either, but he still takes them, doesn't he? Please, Squ-chan; do this for Bel-chan; he's been through enough, and I know you only want the best for him. Please don't make him suffer any more than he already has."

"…" Closing his eyes, Squalo found it almost impossible to speak past the lump in his throat. "…You say his fever's stress-induced…?"

"Yes."

"…Because of me…?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it's _completely _your fault, but if you're hitting and yelling at him, your actions certainly have contributed."

Squalo nodded. "…I see…" With that said, he moved to sit out in the living room.

Lussuria followed him, standing in the doorway. "No matter what, don't blame yourself over this, Squ-chan; it's not your fault you have a head injury. You could have been doing much worse to little Bel-chan because of a head injury."

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Lussu… I don't think… I can look after him…"

"You just need as much support as you're giving to him." Closing distance between he and Squalo, Lussuria pulled the thinner male into a tight hug. "You've always done a great job, and you still _are _for your condition. Let me talk to everyone and we'll do our best to help you both, okay? Even if it means we have to rotate who's looking after Bel for a week or two."

Squalo nodded, reaching up to wipe at his eyes. "Okay…"

"Stay strong, alright, Squ-chan? You can do it."

"…" Watching the older male leave, Squalo wrapped his arms around himself; he _wanted _to talk about his problems, but…

Why was it so _hard? _


	25. Chapter 25

Once Bel had recovered from his fever, Squalo had encouraged him to take it easy for a few more days just to be safe; the man had been worried upon seeing how bad a state his charge had been in, and more often than not, he had wanted to take Bel to the hospital.

But now, seeing Bel sitting at the computer desk with his favourite blanket wrapped around him, Squalo felt a lot better; Bel had pulled through, and was quickly adjusting back to his routine once more.

Sitting on the couch with Haruna, Squalo was easily able to ignore the fact that Bel was using an online voice chat for one his games; he had never minded this, because he was just glad that his charge was socialising. Haruna, however, was getting annoyed.

"Squalo, tell him to shut up and turn the computer off; we're trying to watch TV and all I can hear is the little shit and his friends."

Sighing, Squalo looked to his left, not exactly sure of what Bel was doing on the game, but knowing he only ever turned the voice chat on when he was playing with other people so they could coordinate easier. "Bel, can you keep it down, please?"

Sliding with no effort out of fluent English and into Japanese, Bel cocked his head to the side. "Keep what down?"

"The volume on the computer, and try to talk to your friends a little quieter; Haruna can't concentrate on the movie."

"The volume is already down as far as I can put it, and I can't talk any quieter or they won't hear me, Squ." Changing from Japanese to Italian so that Haruna wouldn't understand him, Bel tugged his blanket tighter around him. "The people I'm talking to are in my guild, and they don't like Haruna. They think she's a bitch."

"And how would _they _know?" Grunting in annoyance, Squalo grabbed the bottle of wine before him off the coffee table, pouring himself another glass.

"Because when I was sick, I missed out on the Onyxia raid, and my guild leader asked Takeshi and Tsuna where I was – because I only joined the guild for them. Takeshi said he didn't know and that it was probably because of me not liking Squ's new girlfriend. Hayato-kun was with Tsuna and said Squ's girlfriend is a bitch, and so the rest of the guild think she's a bitch now, too."

"Don't go making up lies to other people!" Waving the wineglass at Bel, Squalo sighed. "I swear, you're out of fucking control, brat…"

"But I'm not lying; Squ's girlfriend _is _a bitch." Turning his attention back to the computer, then said, "Right, Hayato-kun?" Nodding when he received a muffled agreement through the computer speakers that came from Tsuna's voice chat, Bel looked back at Squalo. "See, Squ?"

Opening his mouth to reply back, Squalo instead froze when he felt someone slap his shoulder in an aggressive manner. Turning to glare at Haruna, he tensed instinctively; don't punch back, Squalo… She's a woman; don't punch back… "How many times do I have to fucking tell you to not hit me?"

"Don't talk in Italian or English when I'm around; how do I know that little shit isn't talking about me?"

"He's not; don't _you _talk about him like this." Trying to turn back to the movie, Squalo listened as Bel turned to English next in order to communicate with who he always referred to as his guild members.

"She hit Squ." Speaking in a soft tone full of upset, Bel clicked his mouse repeatedly against one of his character's spells, trying to distract himself. "I hate her; I could hear her yelling at Squ last night because Squ didn't want sex."

Listening as various members of his guild tried to comfort him, Bel's anxiety grew when he realised that Squalo and Haruna were starting to argue; what if they grew violent…? Letting go of his mouse, he instead started tapping the space bar so that his character was jumping as he ran it into the dragon they were about to try and kill. He used as many attacks as he could before the dragon killed him, and he let out a soft whine into the voice chat. No one yelled at him for this like they would anyone else; Bel's friends had already told them the boy had autism and did strange things when he was upset.

"Are you okay, Bel?" Takeshi, the person who had finally coaxed Bel into joining the guild a while back, moved his character forward to revive his friend's own.

"They're fighting now… Can Hayato-kun come over…?"

There was muffled discussion coming from Tsuna's voice chat before the brunet himself spoke clearly. "Gokudera-kun's on his way over now, Bel."

Humming at this, Bel dropped his head onto the desk next to his keyboard. He hummed again when their guild leader spoke, asking if he wanted to stay and finish their raid. He ran and jumped his character around the cave as he listened to the other giving everyone their instructions, trying his hardest to focus on that instead of the quiet arguing that seemed to just get more heated with each sentence.

Finally, when the first person ran to the dragon to initiate the fight, Bel went to do his part. He hummed once more when he heard Squalo calling to him to tell him that he was going to start dinner, and he couldn't help but tense up at the knowledge that this meant he was in the room alone with Haruna; what if she decided to be a bitch to him next…?

"You'd want to turn that fucking thing off, you spoilt bastard."

Looking over his shoulder, Bel tensed further and growled when he noticed Haruna looking at him. "Shut up… I hate you…"

"Turn it off before I get over there and kick the shit out of you."

"Squ will yell at you if you kick me!" Flinching when the woman got to her feet, Bel pulled his knees to his chest. He forgot all about his game when Haruna came close enough to him to grab his hair and yank harshly, earning a pained scream from the blond.

"What the fuck is going on in here?!" Squalo came storming back out into the living room, his face full of anger.

"I just told him to turn the damn computer down and he tried kicking me, and then he screamed when I pushed his legs away!" Pointing an accusing finger at Bel, Haruna glared when the boy spoke next.

"No, she didn't! She pulled my hair and was mean to me! I hate her!" Taking no notice of the worried conversation on voice chat happening behind him, Bel instead let out a sob.

"Alright." Pointing to Haruna, Squalo growled, "You; you stay over there. And _you, _you stay here. It's like I'm dealing with a bunch of fucking children; stay away from each other!"

When Haruna went back to the couch and Squalo returned to the kitchen, Bel rubbed at his eyes as tears fell down his cheeks. He was upset further to see that his character had been killed, and he couldn't keep the tears out of his voice when he whimpered for his friends.

"Haruna pulled my hair... And she tried telling Squ it was _my _fault, and then he yelled at us both…"

"Yeah, we heard, Bel." Tsuna's voice was full of sympathy. "Don't worry about explaining it to the other guys; Takeshi and I already told them what we heard."

"Here you go, Bel." Moving closer to Bel's character, Takeshi sent the blond a battle resurrection. "Gokudera will be there soon."

While Bel usually enjoyed talking his guild members' ears off, he was very quiet for the remainder of their fight against the dragon. He would hum softly back whenever someone spoke to him, but he was too upset to want to have a conversation; he just wanted to remain online with his friends until Hayato arrived.

When at last, after enough time had passed for the guild to kill the dragon and go on another raid elsewhere, the doorbell had finally sounded and Bel was out of his seat to answer it in a hurry. As soon as he saw Hayato, he threw himself at the younger and hugged him tightly, hiding his face in against the other's chest.

"It's okay, Bel." Rubbing the boy's back, Hayato moved them back inside the house. "We'll go log off your game and then we'll go to your room for a while. Okay?"

Bel nodded, holding Hayato's larger hand tight as he followed his boyfriend back towards the computer. He listened in silence as the silver-haired male explained that he had arrived and so Bel was shutting the game down so they could be together, listening to all the farewells that were thrown at him. He liked his guild, glad that Takeshi had asked him to join them; they were all very nice to him, and they were understanding of his needs. What he liked the most about them was that they had even stood up for him against outsiders when strangers had joined them on their raids and had either harassed or bullied him. They made him feel appreciated, and he liked that greatly.

When Hayato started walking away from the computer, Bel stopped him with another embrace, hugging his boyfriend tight before kissing the younger. He took no notice of the horrified look Haruna sent the two, just glad that Hayato was returning his affections.

"Let's go to your room, okay?" Hayato was quiet, threading his fingers through the other's golden locks. Bel nodded, his hand never leaving his boyfriend's.

When they were sitting on Bel's bed together not long later, the boy pulled himself onto Hayato's lap, staring out of his window in depression. "Why does everyone hate me…?"

"Not _everyone _hates you, Bel. You have friends." Caressing the boy's cheek, Hayato allowed Bel to look away. "It just seems that way because most everyone you've met are assholes."

Bel didn't reply to this; he instead wiped at his eyes before climbing off of Hayato's lap and kneeling onto the floor. Reaching beneath his bed, he pulled out a box. "Look; Dino got me more magazines."

Hayato accepted the box that was handed to him, opening it and finding that his boyfriend had added to his collection of nude magazines; while Squalo didn't know about these as he would surely throw a fit over Bel having them, Dino understood that the blond was a teenager and supplied him with them.

Sifting through the new magazines, Hayato skipped over the females in favour of flicking through the men; just because Bel enjoyed naked women didn't mean he did, too. Knowing that his boyfriend was slowly overcoming the trauma of having been raped so many times, he asked, "Have you started to touch yourself again yet?"

Shaking his head, Bel jumped back up onto the bed, picking up one the female magazines. "Not yet, but I've been getting a little hard again now. Dino said it's okay for me to not want to masturbate, and that I don't have to if I don't want to."

"Well…" Unable to pretend that he himself wasn't getting hard, Hayato was careful about what words he used. "…Even if you haven't been masturbating… If you want to, I can touch you again."

Bel was silent for a few seconds as he thought over the offer, but in the end, he nodded; he trusted Hayato, and he _did _miss the sexual pleasure he had been so used to – he felt more comfortable trusting Hayato with his body than he did with his own hand. "Okay…"

Smiling, Hayato claimed his boyfriend's lips with his own as he reached in past the waistband of Bel's pants. Glad that the older male was slowly recovering, he brought Bel pleasure the blond had denied himself of for months now, and even when the favour wasn't returned, he understood; Bel still had a ways to go before he healed completely.


	26. Chapter 26

With the weeks that had passed by, both Squalo and Bel were becoming more and more depressed due to Haruna's presence. While she constantly stood over Squalo and verbally and emotionally abused him, she was much more subtle with Bel; she knew that while the man didn't believe Bel if he tried to tell him what she was doing, if he were to catch her in the act, it would be a completely different story, and she didn't want to find out what would happen.

"Hey." Haruna, who was watching Bel while Squalo attended a meeting for work, walked into the boy's room. She sneered as she found him curled up in bed, seemingly having been fast asleep. "Get your ass out of bed, you filthy little slut."

Not wanting to get up, Bel laid where he was, completely unmoving; he wasn't sure he had the motivation to so much as blink. "…"

Haruna didn't like this; stomping over to the bed, she grabbed Bel's hair and ignored his screams as she dragged him off the bed. "When I tell you to do something, you do it, you dick sucking whore. Go and scrub the house spotless to get rid of your disgusting fag germs. Make sure you wipe everything down; not a spot is to be missed, faggot."

Letting tears roll down his cheeks as Bel went to do as told, he wished Squalo would listen, but instead the man thought Haruna was just making him do chores and that Bel was being lazy. "I hate you…"

"Believe me; I hate you, too. Squalo wouldn't get rid of you like I told him to, so I took matters into my own hands; I sold you to the highest bidder, and while Squalo is busy today, they'll come and get you and Squalo will think you just ran away. And you know what? He'll never even bother to look for you."

When Bel opened his mouth to argue, Haruna slapped his face. His tears came harder, and he couldn't help but shake when the woman pushed him to the floor.

Reaching into her pocket, Haruna resurfaced with a taser. Waving it threateningly in front of Bel's face, she hissed, "You know what happens when you fuck up and don't listen to me. It goes right on your dick."

Crying harder, Bel knew she wasn't lying; she had already pressed the taser against his crotch several times before. "Squ…"

"He won't save you; he hates you, Bel. Why do you think he leaves you here alone with me? He lets me do whatever I want to you."

"Shut up!" Wincing as he was backhanded across the face next, Bel shuddered as he felt blood running down his chin. "I hate you so much…"

With all of the commotion, Mink had wandered out from under Bel's bed, hissing at Haruna as his fur stood on end. He had always been protective of his owner, and like Bel, he didn't like the woman _at all_.

"Get that stinking thing away from me." Well aware of the fact that Mink would bite her, Haruna backed up a little. Bel didn't listen to her, so she yelled at him again. "Bel! Get the mutt away from me!"

Bel stayed where he was, watching as Mink ran at Haruna. He did nothing until he watched the woman kick Mink away, sending his pet into the wall. He let out a scream of horror, anxiety consuming him to the point he couldn't even stand. "Mink! Mink, no! Mink!"

Crawling over to his pet, Bel reached out and tentatively poked the animal. When it didn't move, the boy could only assume the worst – and that absolutely _destroyed _him.

"You killed him…" Rubbing at his eyes, Bel got to his feet. He had never felt so angry before, and he didn't know how to handle it. Throwing himself at the woman, Bel screamed, "You killed him!"

Haruna went to taser the boy, but Bel had quickly knocked it from her hands. He punched and kicked and bit as he screamed furiously, heartbroken over everything she had put him and Squalo through. While she got in some good attacks of her own, she couldn't get Bel off her; not until someone ended up pulling him off her after what felt like years.

"Squalo!" Surprised to see her boyfriend home so soon after leaving, Haruna's eyes widened; if Squalo were here… "What are you doing back?!"

Shaking in anger as he held Bel close, the man growled. "I left documents on the desk so I came back for them. What the _fuck _do you think you're doing to him? A _taser? _Get the fuck out and don't come back. _Ever!" _

Climbing out of Squalo's arms, Bel ran towards Mink as he heard the two adults start yelling at each other. He cried as he pulled the animal into his arms, wishing he had done something to save Mink; he loved his pet so much, and he didn't know what to do now.

Retreating into his bedroom with Mink, Bel closed the door and locked it, curling up into a ball beneath his sheets and he tried to focus on anything but the fighting outside his door.

When at last it fell quiet, Bel was hesitant to open his door when he heard a knock at it. When he heard Squalo calling out for him, he slowly got off the bed and opened the door.

"Let me see Mink." Squalo didn't beat around the bush; taking the animal from Bel, it took him just seconds to realise Mink was still breathing, albeit only just. "Come on; we're going to the vet, Bel."

"Is he still alive…?" Holding the back of Squalo's jacket, Bel wiped at his eyes. "Is he going to be okay…?"

"I don't know, so let's get him there fast so the vet can help him."

Bel nodded. "I want Mink to be okay."

"I know you do, Bel. I know you do." Wishing Squalo had done something sooner rather than let things get this far, the man hated himself more than ever; why had he not listened to what everyone was telling him, and tried to help himself for Bel's sake? Look at what had happened…

Knowing that Bel truly was better off without him, Squalo decided that trying to save Mink would be the last thing he would ever do for the boy.

_**~~XX~~ **_

That night, Bel had skipped dinner in order to look after Mink. The vet had been able to save him, but Bel had to nurse him back to health. Having been taking his job very seriously, Bel only left Mink alone to ask Squalo where he had put the animal's medication.

Walking towards Squalo's bedroom, Bel didn't sense anything out of the ordinary; not until he opened the door and found Squalo laying on the floor in a puddle of blood, a knife clutched tightly in his hand.

Bel screamed louder than he ever had before as tears slid down his cheeks. Running to the man, he shook the other's shoulder as he begged and pleaded for Squalo to wake up. When it was no good, he did the first thing he could think of and grabbed Squalo's phone, calling Dino and telling him what he had found.

"Stay with him and hold something against his wrists to stop the bleeding, Bel." Dino's voice was urgent, and even Bel could notice that. "I'm calling an ambulance. Go with them to the hospital; I'm going to get you from there."

Bel nodded, pulling his hoody off his thin body in order to wrap Squalo's arms in it. He continued to cry, hoping the ambulance would get here in time; he never wanted to lose Squalo – not _ever_.

_**~~XX~~**_

Hours had passed since Squalo had been taken to the hospital, and Dino and Bel had only just been given the okay to see him. The man had been put on a lot of morphine, but he was still coherent enough to reach out and invite Bel onto the bed with him.

"Brat…" Not knowing what else to say, Squalo just let his gaze fix on the mink in Bel's arms; how he had been allowed to bring the animal into the hospital, he would never know. "…How's Mink…?"

Sniffing, Bel nodded. "He's okay… Dino took me home so we could find his medicine… Then we went to Dino's house for a while and played some games..."

"That's good…" Feeling extremely weak, Squalo fell silent. "…"

"Squ…?"

"Yes, Bel…?"

"…Why…?" Wiping at his eyes, Bel snuggled in close to his guardian. "I love you, Squ… Please, don't die…"

"You don't want me to die…?" Fighting back tears, Squalo closed his eyes.

"I don't… Please..."

"Squalo…" Sending his friend a tired look, Dino wished the younger could just _see _what he meant to them.

Sighing, Squalo knew he couldn't fight it anymore; he had tried his best, but… "Bel… I'm so sorry for all the times I was a bad guardian… I put you through a lot because I was having a bad time myself… I tried hiding from my feelings and pretending they didn't exist, and I let you pay the price… If you can forgive me, I promise you I will never hurt you again, Bel… I'll… I'll get help so we can go back to how we used to be… I promise… I love you, too… So please… Don't give up on me, Bel; I'll do anything for you…"

"I love Squ-Squ." Leaning over to kiss his guardian's cheek, Bel smiled shyly. "I love Squ-Squ lots and lots. Just… D-don't… Don't get another girlfriend…"

Squalo hummed in agreement; oh, how he couldn't agree more on that.


	27. Chapter 27

With all the years that had passed by, Squalo had remained true to his word; he had gotten help for himself, and along the way had met a woman he was sure he had fallen in love with. He had been hesitant to date again, but the more time he spent with her, the more he kept falling head over heels for her. When she had suggested to him that they should date after a while, he had been anxious and hesitant, but with the compromise of introducing her to Bel and seeing what the boy thought of her, he had soon found himself a new girlfriend, one that genuinely loved him in return and would never do anything to hurt him. Bel, also, had warmed up to her after a few months; it had been hard for him to remain frightened of her when she constantly showered him with affection and would even bring him treats when she came over.

Bel himself was doing a lot better now that Squalo wasn't so angry all the time – _especially _with Haruna out of the picture. He had grown to really like his guardian's new girlfriend, and as he slowly became close to her over the years, he had come to view her as the mother he had never had.

"Squ?"

Looking over his shoulder as he heard Bel call for him, Squalo stood up from his desk and opened the office door for his charge. The blond was standing before him with Mink in his arms, his head cocked to the side as a joyful smile split across his face. Squalo had to hand it to the young man; after everything Bel had been put through, here he stood, twenty-six-years-old and happier than he had ever been.

"What's up, brat?" Looking down at the younger, Squalo couldn't help but feel love bubble up in his chest; he was so glad Bel had found him that night, because now that he was on antidepressants and was undertaking counselling for his problems, he, too, was happy – and if his death would have stopped that beautiful smile from ever appearing on Bel's face, well…

Well, Squalo would have hated himself more than ever.

Shivering in excitement, Bel held Mink tighter. His smile grew even wider, a giggle leaving his lips before saying, "Hayato-kun said he's going to take me to Italy for a few weeks soon. He said it'll just be us and it'll be a holiday."

"That's great, Bel." Patting Bel's shoulder, Squalo smiled; he was glad that Hayato had been able to come to love the blond and treat him right, because Bel loved Hayato very much. "When will that be?"

"In about a month, so that Hayato-kun can get everything ready. We were just talking about it on Facebook. I'm really excited, Squ-Squ~"

"I can see that, brat. I'm very happy for you." Lifting his arm to check the time on his wristwatch, Squalo took a deep breath; he was supposed to have started lunch for everyone fifteen minutes ago. "Sorry, Bel; I lost track of the time. Lunch will be a little late today."

"Na-uh; Mama said she would cook lunch today because Squ-Squ was busy. She said it's almost ready."

Squalo instantly relaxed at this, so happy that he finally had help and someone to love; he didn't know how to explain it, but he was just relieved that he was finally no longer alone and expected to deal with everything by himself. He had his friends, and they helped out as much as they could, but…

Even so, it still wasn't the same as his girlfriend.

"What's Anko making for lunch, Bel?"

"She said I could have sushi today because she liked seeing me smile when I told her about Italy."

Squalo could have cried at these words; he knew how much Bel had always wanted a family, but he had only ever had Squalo; to finally have a woman in his life who treated him with love and kindness…

It was no surprise Bel had soon started calling the woman Mama, considering he had been nineteen when she and Squalo had gotten together.

"I'm glad she likes seeing you smile, Bel. I like seeing you smile, too. So try and do some more of it, okay?" Putting his gloved hand against the blond's cheek, Squalo's eyes softened when the younger nuzzled into it. "I know you struggle with depression, too, but you're doing so well. I'm so proud of you."

"Shishi~ I love Squ-Squ~" Putting Mink on top of his head, Bel then wrapped his arms around his guardian. "Will Squ and Mama play some games with me after lunch?"

"Sure, Bel. What do you want to play?"

"Hide-and-Seek! And Mink wants to play, too~!"

"Alright, Bel. Settle down now, okay? Let's go and see if Anko has almost finished lunch."

Following behind Squalo, Bel grabbed long, silver locks and whipped them as they walked, telling the man all about his adventures with Takeshi and Tsuna on one of his games. He didn't stop as they entered the kitchen, instead automatically including Anko in on the conversation. He continued gushing as he took his seat at the table, not quietening down until a plate of sushi was put in front of him and he received a kiss to the cheek, courtesy of Anko. He blushed scarlet as he picked up his cutlery, ducking his head in a shy manner.

Anko smiled as she took a seat next to Squalo, picking up her chopsticks. "You're such a sweetheart, Bel-kun."

"Don't encourage him." Allowing a playful smile to cross his lips, Squalo pushed his sushi around on the plate before taking a bite. He swallowed it before saying, "He'll start giving you boxes of chocolates so you compliment him more."

Bel's blush darkened at this, taking a few moments for his shyness to disappear before he started talking happily again. He picked up where he had left off about his game, barely taking a breath until minutes later when he finally finished his story.

"That's lovely, honey." Anko, who had never really been able to understand what Bel was talking about when he started gushing about his games, smiled. "It's good you're having fun with your friends."

Bel hummed in agreement, taking his first bite out of lunch. He looked at Squalo when the man spoke to him, his obscured eyes glinting with happiness; he had only been able to imagine what it was like to have a family lunch, but now that he could experience them for himself, he hoped it would always be like this; he loved the happiness and laughter that made him feel whole, and he wouldn't trade it for the world.

"When is Hayato picking you up?" Knowing that Bel had a date planned with his boyfriend tonight, Squalo waited patiently for a reply.

"He said he'll be here by four." Tapping his spoon against his plate, Bel giggled as he thought about his date. "Hayato-kun said I could plan it tonight, so we're going to go to his house and play some videogames, and then he's taking me out for dinner to Takesushi, and then we're going to watch some movies at his house, and then when we come back here, Hayato-kun is going to stay the night, and just before we go to bed, we're going to have sex."

Anko smiled shyly, still getting used to the way Bel could so openly discuss his private life around her. She had never spoken to him about it before, knowing that the blond was simply comfortable around her. "That sounds like a nice date, Bel-kun."

Squalo nodded, wishing his charge had stayed innocent for a while longer – but Bel was twenty-six, and if he wanted to have sex, he could have it. "Don't forget to make him wear protection, Bel."

"He will, Squ; he knows I don't like it if he comes in me; I hate other peoples' come now."

Squalo's smile dropped at this, knowing it was because of what had happened to Bel all those years ago; he had been raped so often, the idea of semen being inside of him – or even touching his skin – terrified him. "…"

"Squ?" Cocking his head to the side, Bel nibbled at his rice before continuing on. "Can I borrow some of your condoms? I forgot to put on my list that I need more when I gave it to you."

Squalo couldn't help but chuckle; Bel genuinely didn't realise that this was something most people would frown on him for being able to request so openly, but that was what he loved about the younger so much; Bel had a tremendous amount of trust and love in his guardian, and there was very little he felt uncomfortable talking about with the man.

"I'll get you some more soon."

With that said, Squalo returned to his lunch, listening politely as Bel found yet another topic he wanted to talk about. Squalo swore the younger male loved hearing his own voice and spoke just for the sake of it, but he didn't mind; the more the blond gushed, the happier he was.

Squalo would _never _wish for the young man's happiness to lessen even the slightest; he had put his charge through a lot, through things he would never be able to repent for, and because of that, he wanted Bel to be as happy as possible, even if it meant the other always talking his ears off.

As long as Bel was happy, Squalo was happy, and that was all that mattered to him.


End file.
